title: T1 assessment of hip joint cartilage following intra-articular gadolinium injection: a pilot study.
abstract: This pilot study defines the feasibility of cartilage assessment in symptomatic femoroacetabular impingement patients using intra-articular delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage (ia-dGEMRIC). Nine patients were scanned preliminary to study the contrast infiltration process into hip joint cartilage. Twenty-seven patients with symptomatic femoroacetabular impingement were subsequently scanned with intra-articular delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage. These T(1) findings were correlated to morphological findings. Zonal variations were studied. This pilot study demonstrates a significant difference between the pre- and postcontrast T(1) values (P < 0.001) remaining constant for 45 min. We noted higher mean T(1) values in morphologically normal-appearing cartilage than in damaged cartilage, which was statistically significant for all zones except the anterior-superior zone. Intraobserver (0.972) and interobserver correlation coefficients (0.933) were statistically significant. This study outlines the feasibility of intra-articular delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage for assessment of cartilage changes in patients with femoroacetabular impingement. It can also define the topographic extent and differing severities of cartilage damage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Inselspital, Bern, Switzerland. bbittersohl@partners.org
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bittersohl
authors.forename: Harish S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Hosalkar
authors.forename: Young-Jo
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Werlen
authors.forename: Siegfried
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Trattnig
authors.forename: Klaus A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Siebenrock
authors.forename: Tallal C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Mamisch
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002357:Cartilage Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000473:pathology*; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006621:Hip Joint / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D007270:Injections, Intra-Articular; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA