title: Pain in patients with equal radiographic grades of osteoarthritis in both knees: the value of gray scale ultrasound.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the association of ultrasound (US) features with pain and the functional scores in patients with equal radiographic grades of osteoarthritis (OA) in both knees.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-six consecutive patients with knee OA: 85 symptomatic knees (81 knees with medial pain) and 27 asymptomatic knees, and 10 healthy patients without knee OA as a control were enrolled. US was done by two ultrasonographers blinded to patient diagnoses. US features were semiquantitatively scored (0-3) when appropriate.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the OA group, common US findings were marginal osteophyte, suprapatellar synovitis, suprapatellar effusion (SPE), medial meniscus protrusion, medial compartment synovitis (MCS), lateral compartment synovitis, and Baker's cyst. Only SPE and MCS were significantly associated with knee pain. Visual analog pain scale (VAS) scores on motion were positively linearly associated with SPE and MCS (P < 0.01). Only MCS was degree-dependently associated with VAS scores at rest, the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities pain subscale, and the presence of medial knee pain (P < 0.01) after adjustments for age, gender, body mass index (BMI), radiographic grade, and other US features. In the control group, no US features were associated with knee pain.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  US inflammation features, including SPE and MCS, were positively linearly associated with knee pain in motion. MCS was also degree-dependently associated with pain at rest and the presence of medial knee pain. These findings show that synovitis was one important predictive factor of pain. Further studies to confirm the association of US features and pain are warranted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan. anotherme500@gmail.com
authors.forename: P-T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: C-J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.forename: K-C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: T-T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: T-C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Chern
authors.forename: L-C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.forename: I-M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Jou
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D011859:Radiography; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014463:Ultrasonography