Is thickened hyaline cartilage on ultrasound a sign of osteoarthritis? A within-person, between-joint pilot study.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To determine whether the presence of conventional radiography (CR)-detected osteophytes is associated with focal thickening of the hyaline cartilage by ultrasound (US) in the same area of the metacarpal head in a within-person, between-joint cross-sectional comparison in patients with hand osteoarthritis (HOA).

Design

64 patients with HOA (classified using the 1990 ACR classification criteria) were screened. Participants were eligible for inclusion if they displayed osteophytes in at least one of their metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints, no osteophytes in the contralateral corresponding MCP joint and no joint space narrowing (JSN) in either MCP joint by CR. In these patients, cartilage thickness was measured by US in 2 subregions of both metacarpal heads (i.e., the c

SUBMITTER: Cipolletta E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11863393 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature