title: Knee joint ultrasonography of the ACLT rabbit experimental model of osteoarthritis: relevance and effectiveness in detecting meniscal lesions.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To develop a protocol for rabbit knee joint ultrasonography (US); to grade ultrasonographically the meniscal injuries of the anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT) rabbit model of osteoarthritis (OA); to assess with US the effectiveness of the ACLT; to compare final US with macroscopy for the evaluation of medial and lateral meniscal injuries depending on the age and weight when ACLT is performed.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-two skeletally mature and adolescent New Zealand white rabbits were housed during the same period at the Institut Claude-Bourgelat, Lyon, France. Surgical ACLT was performed in the left knee of nine adolescent and five adult rabbits. Final US and macroscopic semi-quantitative grading of the meniscal injuries were compared 5 months after ACLT.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A standardised protocol was developed to evaluate the rabbit knee joint. US was performed in both control and ACLT knees. Normal and abnormal meniscal US appearances were described. A semi-quantitative scale to grade US meniscal injuries was created. Macroscopic and US total meniscal scores were significantly positively correlated (P<0.001, r=0.70). US detection of meniscal injuries was 92% sensitive and 87.5% specific compared to macroscopy. Positive and negative predictive values of US were, respectively, 92% and 87.5%. US detection of the ACLT effectiveness was 100% specific and 78.5% sensitive.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A significant relationship was found between ultrasonographic and macroscopic grading of meniscal injuries. US was both specific and sensitive in detecting meniscal lesions. We propose US as a non-invasive, non-expensive, in vivo imaging technique for preclinical studies in the ACLT rabbit OA model.
authors: Université de Lyon, UR RTI2B, F-69003, France. c.boulocher@vet-lyon.fr
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Boulocher
authors: M-E
authors: ME
authors: Duclos
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Arnault
authors: O
authors: O
authors: Roualdes
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Fau
authors: D J
authors: DJ
authors: Hartmann
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Roger
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Vignon
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Viguier
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016118:Anterior Cruciate Ligament / Q000601:surgery; D001169:Arthritis, Experimental; D008592:Menisci, Tibial / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D011817:Rabbits; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013264:Stifle / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D014463:Ultrasonography