Ultrasonographic Assessment of Knee Cartilage Thickness in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis: Decreased Femoral Cartilage Thickness May Be an Indicator of Extraintestinal Manifestation in Patients with Mild Activity Ulcerative Colitis

Objectives Ulcerative colitis is a systemic inflammatory disease which primarily involves the gut but presented by numerous extraintestinal manifestations. The effect of ulcerative colitis on knee cartilage has not been evaluated up to the present. In the current study, we aimed to investigate the possible relationship between the presence of ulcerative colitis and femoral cartilage thickness. Design Sixty-two patients with confirmed diagnosis of ulcerative colitis and 70 healthy controls aged 18 to 50 years referred to the gastroenterology outpatient department between January 2018 and January 2019 participated in this cross-sectional study. The measurements were made by ultrasonography with the patient in a supine position and the knees in complete flexion. Demographic, clinical, endoscopic and laboratory data were collected for all the subjects. Results The groups of ulcerative colitis and control group were similar with regard to sex, mean age, weight, height, body mass index, extremity dominancy, and existence of knee pain ( P > 0.05). Medial femoral condyles, intercondylar areas, and lateral femoral condyles of both right and left knees had thinner cartilage thickness in ulcerative colitis group than control group ( P < 0.001). Conclusion Knee cartilage was thinner in subjects with mild activity ulcerative colitis than in healthy controls. Decreased knee cartilage thickness may be an indicator of extraintestinal manifestation in patients with mild activity ulcerative colitis. This association between ulcerative colitis and knee cartilage degeneration may be effective in early detection of possible risk factors and potential treatment strategies for both ulcerative colitis and specific subtypes of knee osteoarthritis.

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Ultrasonographic evaluation of femoral cartilage thickness in patients with familial Mediterranean fever

Turkish Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation ◽

10.5606/tftrd.2021.6094 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 67 (4) ◽

pp. 416-420

Author(s):

Ayşe Aydemir Ekim ◽

Fulya Bakılan ◽

Emel Gönüllü ◽

Hatice Hamarat

Keyword(s):

Familial Mediterranean Fever ◽

Colchicine Treatment ◽

Left Knee ◽

Chronic Arthritis ◽

Cartilage Thickness ◽

Femoral Cartilage ◽

Mediterranean Fever ◽

Femoral Cartilage Thickness ◽

The Right ◽

Femoral Condyles

Objectives: This study aims to determine femoral cartilage thickness using ultrasonography in familial Mediterranean fever (FMF). Patients and methods: A total of 45 patients (16 males, 29 females; mean age: 38.5±9.1 years; range, 24 to 49 years) with the diagnosis of FMF and 31 healthy individuals (6 males, 25 females; mean age: 37.0±8.7 years; range, 25 to 47 years) between January 2016 and July 2016 were included in this study. Clinical data and demographic characteristics of the patients were recorded. All FMF cases in the study were in remission with colchicine treatment. The thickness of femoral cartilage in both knees were evaluated using ultrasonography. Three measurements (mid-point) were taken from both knees (at the medial/lateral femoral condyles and intercondylar area). Results: Ultrasonographical measurements revealed that cartilage measurements of FMF patients were significantly thinner at both the medial/lateral femoral condyles and intercondylar area on the right knee and at the medial/lateral femoral condyles on the left knee (p<0.001). The cartilage measurements in FMF patients were significantly thinner at the intercondylar area on left knee, compared to those in controls (p=0.023). Conclusion: Our study showed decreased femoral cartilage thickness in FMF patients. These findings indicate that even if these patients do not have an attack, they may have subacute and chronic arthritis in their joints, and their femoral cartilage thickness can be affected.

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Longitudinal Changes in Ultrasound-Assessed Femoral Cartilage Thickness in Individuals from 4 to 6 Months Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Cartilage ◽

10.1177/19476035211038749 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 194760352110387

Author(s):

Caroline Lisee ◽

Matthew Harkey ◽

Zachary Walker ◽

Karin Pfeiffer ◽

Tracey Covassin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ligament Reconstruction ◽

Cruciate Ligament ◽

Cartilage Thickness ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Female Age ◽

Femoral Cartilage ◽

Femoral Cartilage Thickness ◽

Anterior Cruciate ◽

Changes Over Time ◽

Over Time

Objective Diagnostic ultrasound provides a valid assessment of cartilage health that has been used to observe cross-sectional cartilage thickness differences post-ACLR (anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction), but has not been used longitudinally during early recovery post-ACLR. Design The purpose of this study was to assess longitudinal changes in femoral cartilage thickness via ultrasound in individuals at 4 to 6 months post-ACLR and compared to healthy controls. Twenty participants (50% female, age = 21.1 ± 5.7 years) completed testing sessions 4 and 6 months post-ACLR. Thirty healthy controls (57% female, age = 20.8 ± 3.8 years) without knee injury history completed 2 testing sessions (>72 hours apart). Femoral cartilage ultrasound images were captured bilaterally in ACLR participants and in the dominant limb of healthy controls during all sessions. Average cartilage thicknesses in the medial, intercondylar, and lateral femoral regions were determined using a semi-automated processing technique. Results When comparing cartilage thickness mean differences or changes over time, individuals post-ACLR did not demonstrate between limb differences ( P-range = 0.50-0.92), limb differences compared to healthy controls ( P-range = 0.19-0.94), or changes over time ( P-range = 0.22-0.72) for any femoral cartilage thickness region. However, participants demonstrated cartilage thickening (45%) or thinning (35%) that exceeded minimal detectable change (MDC) from 4 to 6 months post-ACLR, respectively. Conclusions Using MDC scores may help better identify within-subject femoral cartilage thickness changes longitudinally post-ACLR due to bidirectional cartilage thickness changes.

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