Quantitative assessment of synovitis in Legg–Calvé–Perthes disease using gadolinium-enhanced MRI

• Published in: Journal of pediatric orthopaedics. B Vol. 24; no. 2; pp. 89 - 94
• Main Authors: Neal, David C, O’Brien, Jack C, Burgess, Jamie, Jo, Chanhee, Kim, Harry K.W
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Copyright Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved 01-03-2015
• Subjects: Child; Child, Preschool; Contrast Media; Female; Femur Head - pathology; Gadolinium; Hip Joint - pathology; Humans; Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease - diagnosis; Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease - diagnostic imaging; Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease - pathology; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Male; Observer Variation; Prospective Studies; Radiography; Synovitis - diagnosis
• ISSN: 1060-152X; 1473-5865
• DOI: 10.1097/BPB.0000000000000107

A quantitative method to assess hip synovitis in Legg–Calvé–Perthes disease (LCPD) is not currently available. To develop this method, the areas of synovial enhancement on gadolinium-enhanced MRI (Gd-MRI) were measured by two independent observers. The volume of synovial enhancement was significantly increased in the initial and the fragmentation stages of LCPD (Waldenström stages I and II), with a persistence of synovitis into the reossification stage (stage III). The Gd-MRI method had high interobserver and intraobserver agreements and may serve as a useful method to monitor the effect of various treatments on hip synovitis in LCPD.