Abstract:

Objective To investigate the value of ultrasound in diagnosis of diseases of articular cartilage of knees in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods Forty-three patients with RA were selected, and were divided into disease course＜5 year group （n=19）, disease course 5 to 10 years group （n=12）and disease course＞10 year group （n=12）. Besides, another 20 healthy volunteers were served as control group. Articular cartilages of knees were observed by gray scale ultrasound in each group. Forty-three patients with RA underwent X-ray examinations, among whom 19 also received MRI examinations. Results The thickness of medial condyle of articular cartilage of knees in control group was (1.8±0.6) mm, lateral condyle was (1.9±0.6) mm, median sulcus was (2.5±0.7) mm, and that in patients with RA was ＜1.2 mm, ＜1.3 mm and ＜1.5 mm, respectively. The detection rates of diseases of articular cartilage by ultrasound in disease course ＜5 year group, disease course 5 to 10 years group and disease course ＞10 year group were 21.1%, 58.3% and 91.7%, respectively, and there were significant differences among groups （P<0.01）. For the 43 patients with RA (86 knee articulations) the detection rate of diseases of articular cartilage by ultrasound was 41.9%, that by X-ray examinations was 0, and there were significant differences between these two examinations (P<0.01）. In 19 patients undergoing both ultrasound and MRI examinations, the detection rates of diseases of articular cartilage by ultrasound and MRI were 26.3% and 47.4%, respectively, and there was no significant difference between these two examinations （P＞0.05）. Conclusion The pathological changes of articular cartilage in patients with RA could be better detected by ultrasound than X-ray. Both ultrasound and MRI could be used to detect diseases of articular cartilage of knee in patients with RA.

Key words: arthritis, rheumatoid, ultrasound