Ossification variants of the femoral condyles are not associated with osteochondritis dissecans.
OBJECTIVE
To determine if ossification variants of the femoral condyles involving the subchondral bone plate are associated with osteochondritis dissecans (OCD).


METHODS
The prevalence of ossification variants of the unaffected femoral condyle in 116 patients (aged 9-14 years) with unicondylar OCD on MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) of the knee was compared to a control group of 579 patients (aged 9-14 years) without OCD. The evolution of the ossification variants in both groups was studied by reviewing follow-up MR imaging side by side with the baseline study.


RESULTS
The prevalence of ossification variants in the unaffected condyle in patients with OCD (12.9%) and in the control group of patients without OCD (12.6%) was similar (p=0.88). Evolution of ossification variants to OCD was not seen on follow-up MRI examinations. All variants had decreased in size or were no longer visible.


CONCLUSIONS
Ossification variants of the femoral condyle that involve the subchondral bone plate are not associated with OCD. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: Ossification variants are not associated with OCD, indicating that routine MRI follow-up in affected children is not mandatory.
Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging, Ghent University Hospital, De Pintelaan 185, 9000 Gent, Belgium. lennartjans@hotmail.com
L
L
Jans
J
J
Jaremko
M
M
Ditchfield
T
T
De Coninck
W
W
Huysse
A
A
Moon
K
K
Verstraete
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005269:Femur / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009999:Ossification, Heterotopic / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D010008:Osteochondritis Dissecans / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity