AB1158 CLINICAL AND VISUAL US PARAMETERS IN SYMPTOMATIC KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS AND ASYMPTOMATIC PATIENTS

Background Sonography is widely used because of its easy accessibility, relatively low cost. Sonography provides distinct information that bridges the gap between clinical and radiologic evaluation. There has been a growing interest in determining the sources of pain with ultrasound (US) findings in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Objectives The aim of this study was to determine the relationships between clinical parameters and features of US of the knee. Methods This was a cross-sectional study, recruiting 47 consecutive patients aged 47 (36- 54), 60,42% (n=29) were female. Those with recent trauma, rheumatic diseases were excluded from the study. Patients underwent assessment for knee pain (Visual Analog Scale (VAS)), US examination of the knee joints according to the 4-point scale (synovial proliferation, joint effusion, power Doppler signal (PD), patellofemoral joint cartilage (PFJ), medial femoral cartilage (MF), medial (MM) and lateral meniscus (LM), osteophytes, Baker cysts). US staging of knee OA was also performed. Results Patients were divided into 2 groups: those with knee pain (n=28) and asymptomatic patients (n=19). Pathological US features were found in both groups (Table). In 5 out of 19asymptomatic patients, degenerative changes of different degree of the joint structures were identified (PFJ, MF, osteophytes, MM, LM), in 4 patients – joint effusion. Prevalence of PFJ, MF, MM, LM changes, osteophytes and Baker cysts didn’t differ between groupsG. roups differed in PD signal expression in the synovia (p=0,07). Functional association between VAS score and PD expression (R=1,0, p Conclusion In the patients under study, degenerative and inflammatory findings were common in the symptomatic group, but were also identified in the asymptomatic patients. Clinical parameters were more strongly associated with active inflammation (as verified by US) rather than with degenerative changes. Disclosure of Interests None declared