title: Arthroscopic synovectomy of the knee joint in early cases of rheumatoid arthritis: follow-up results of a multicenter study.
abstract: A retrospective multicenter study on a total of 93 knee joints in 81 patients with early forms of rheumatoid arthritis treated by arthroscopic synovectomy was carried out. During the average follow-up period of 33 months, the patients' clinical state showed appreciable improvement. The Lysholm score modified by Klein and Jensen increased from 43.2 points preoperatively to 78.1 points at follow-up. Also, the Insall score (knee score and functional score) showed a highly significant increase of 25.7 and 25.2 points to 71.2 and 80.2 points, respectively. Patients receiving additional radiation synovectomy showed a highly significantly better result than those receiving synovectomy alone. Among the individual variables investigated, pain, swelling, and walking distance in particular were improved. Only radiologically was a mild worsening observed (from Larsen stage 1.57 preoperatively to 1.95 at follow-up). The follow-up examination revealed no synovitis in 80.6% of the patients. Subjectively, 76.4% of the patients assessed the results to be good or very good, with only 7.5% remaining unsatisfied. 90.3% of the patients declared themselves in retrospect willing to undergo the operation again.
authors.affiliation: Orthopädische Klinik und Poliklinik der Friedrich Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Abteilung für Orthopädische Rheumatologie, Erlangen, Germany. stefan.klug@rzmail.uni-erlangen.de
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Klug
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wittmann
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Weseloh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D001182:Arthroscopy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013585:Synovitis / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome