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. 1998 Jul;57(7):401–407. doi: 10.1136/ard.57.7.401

Correlation between radiographically diagnosed osteophytes and magnetic resonance detected cartilage defects in the tibiofemoral joint

T Boegard 1, O Rudling 1, I Petersson 1, K Jonsson 1
PMCID: PMC1752666  PMID: 9797566

Abstract

OBJECTIVE—To assess the correlation between the presence of radiographically diagnosed osteophytes in the tibiofemoral joint (TFJ) and (1) magnetic resonance (MR) detected cartilage defects and meniscal lesions in the same joint and (2) knee pain.
METHODS—Fifty nine people, 29 men and 30 women, with chronic knee pain (aged 41-58 years, mean 50 years) were examined with posteroanterior weightbearing radiograms in semiflexion of both TFJ. The presence and grade of marginal and central osteophytes were assessed. On the same day, an MR examination was performed of the signal knee with proton density and T2 weighted turbo spin-echo sequences on a 1.0 T imager. Cartilage defects and meniscal abnormalities in the TFJ were noted. The subjects were questioned for current knee pain for each knee.
RESULTS—Marginal osteophytes had a sensitivity of 77%, specificity of 83%, and positive predictive value of 87% for MR detected cartilage defects in the TFJ and a sensitivity of 71%, specificity of 68%, and positive predictive value of 71% for meniscal abnormalities. A correlation (p<0.05) between osteophytes at the medial tibial condyle and knee pain was found.
CONCLUSIONS—With the presence of marginal osteophytes in the TFJ there is a high prevalence of MR detected cartilage defects in the same joint whether joint space narrowing (<3 mm) is present or not. 

 Keywords: knee; radiogram; osteoarthritis; osteophyte

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Figure 1  .

Figure 1  

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A 57 year old woman with a posteroanterior radiogram of the right knee demonstrating a marginal osteophyte grade 2 at the medial tibial condyle and an osteophyte grade 1 at the medial femoral condyle and at the lateral tibial condyle (arrow). The joint space width is 1 mm medially and 5 mm laterally.

Figure 2  .

Figure 2  

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A 57 year old woman with (A) a posteroanterior radiogram of the right knee showing normal joint space width medially (4 mm) and laterally (5 mm). At the medial tibial condyle there is a marginal osteophyte grade 1 (arrow). In the corresponding (B) Pd and (C) T2 weighted coronal MR images, a cartilage defect grade 2 in the medial femoral condyle is shown (arrow).

Figure 3  .

Figure 3  

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A 42 year old man with (A) a posteroanterior radiogram of the right knee, demonstrating normal joint space width medially (6 mm) and laterally (5 mm). (B) A close up of the lateral compartment to show a marginal osteophyte grade 1 at the tibial and femoral condyles. In the corresponding (C) sagittal Pd weighted MR image of the lateral compartment is demonstrated cartilage defects grade 2 at the femoral and tibial condyles (arrows). Note the truncation of the posterior portion of the lateral meniscus.

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