TY - JOUR T1 - What is the predictive value of MRI for the occurrence of knee replacement surgery in knee osteoarthritis? JF - Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases JO - Ann Rheum Dis SP - 1594 LP - 1604 DO - 10.1136/annrheumdis-2013-203631 VL - 72 IS - 10 AU - J-P Pelletier AU - C Cooper AU - C Peterfy AU - J-Y Reginster AU - M-L Brandi AU - O Bruyère AU - R Chapurlat AU - F Cicuttini AU - P G Conaghan AU - M Doherty AU - H Genant AU - G Giacovelli AU - M C Hochberg AU - D J Hunter AU - J A Kanis AU - M Kloppenburg AU - J-D Laredo AU - T McAlindon AU - M Nevitt AU - J-P Raynauld AU - R Rizzoli AU - C Zilkens AU - F W Roemer AU - J Martel-Pelletier AU - A Guermazi Y1 - 2013/10/01 UR - http://ard.bmj.com/content/72/10/1594.abstract N2 - Knee osteoarthritis is associated with structural changes in the joint. Despite its many drawbacks, radiography is the current standard for evaluating joint structure in trials of potential disease-modifying osteoarthritis drugs. MRI is a non-invasive alternative that provides comprehensive imaging of the whole joint. Frequently used MRI measurements in knee osteoarthritis are cartilage volume and thickness; others include synovitis, synovial fluid effusions, bone marrow lesions (BML) and meniscal damage. Joint replacement is considered a clinically relevant outcome in knee osteoarthritis; however, its utility in clinical trials is limited. An alternative is virtual knee replacement on the basis of symptoms and structural damage. MRI may prove to be a good alternative to radiography in definitions of knee replacement. One of the MRI parameters that predicts knee replacement is medial compartment cartilage volume/thickness, which correlates with radiographic joint space width, is sensitive to change, and predicts outcomes in a continuous manner. Other MRI parameters include BML and meniscal lesions. MRI appears to be a viable alternative to radiography for the evaluation of structural changes in knee osteoarthritis and prediction of joint replacement. ER -