Bone scintigraphy in chronic knee pain: comparison with magnetic resonance imaging
- Torsten Boegårda,
- Olof Rudlinga,
- Jan Dahlströmb,
- Hans Dirksenb,
- Ingemar F Peterssonc,
- Kjell Jonssond
- aDepartments of Diagnostic Radiology, band Physiology, cCounty Hospital, Helsingborg, Sweden Spenshult’s Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, Halmstad, Sweden, dDepartment of Diagnostic Radiology, University Hospital, Lund, Sweden
- Dr T Boegård, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, County Hospital, S-251 87 Helsingborg, Sweden.
- Accepted 12 August 1998
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To compare increased bone uptake of 99Tcm-MDP and magnetic resonance (MR) detected subchondral lesions, osteophytes, and cartilage defects in the knee in middle aged people with longstanding knee pain.
METHODS Fifty eight people (aged 41–58 years, mean 50) with chronic knee pain, with or without radiographic knee osteoarthritis, were examined with bone scintigraphy. The pattern and the grade of increased bone uptake was assessed. On the same day, a MR examination on a 1.0 T imager was performed. The presence and the grade of subchondral lesions, osteophytes, and cartilage defects were registered.
RESULTS The κ values describing the correlation between increased bone uptake and MR detected subchondral lesions varied between 0.79 and 0.49, and between increased bone uptake and MR detected osteophytes or cartilage defects the values were <0.54. The κ values describing the correlation between the grade of bone uptake and the grade of the different MR findings was <0.57.
CONCLUSIONS Good agreement was found between increased bone uptake and MR detected subchondral lesion. The agreement between increased bone uptake and osteophytes or cartilage defects was in general poor as well as the agreement between the grade of bone uptake and the grade of the MR findings.
