title: An OMERACT reliability exercise of inflammatory and structural abnormalities in patients with knee osteoarthritis using ultrasound assessment.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess whether ultrasonography (US) is reliable for the evaluation of inflammatory and structural abnormalities in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA).
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirteen patients with early knee OA were examined by 11 experienced sonographers during 2 days. Dichotomous and semiquantitative scoring was performed on synovitis characteristics in various aspects of the knee joint. Semiquantitative scoring was done of osteophytes at the medial and lateral femorotibial joint space or cartilage damage of the trochlea and on medial meniscal damage bilaterally. Intra- and interobserver reliability were computed by use of unweighted and weighted κ coefficients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Intra- and interobserver reliability scores were moderate to good for synovitis (mean κ 0.67 and 0.52, respectively) as well as moderate to good for the global synovitis (0.70 and 0.50, respectively). Mean intra- and interobserver reliability κ for cartilage damage, medial meniscal damage and osteophytes ranged from fair to good (0.55 and 0.34, 0.75 and 0.56, 0.73 and 0.60, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Using a standardised protocol, dichotomous and semiquantitative US scoring of pathological changes in knee OA can be reliable.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, MC Groep Hospitals, Lelystad, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: George Aw
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Bruyn
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Hospital GU Gregorio Marañón and Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Esperanza
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Naredo
authors.affiliation: Institute of Rheumatology, University of Belgrade School of Medicine, Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Nemanja
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Damjanov
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Diseases and Rheumatology, Military Medical Hospital, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Artur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bachta
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, MC Groep Hospitals, Lelystad, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Baudoin
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Hilde Berner
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Hammer
authors.affiliation: Bernhoven Ziekenhuis Uden and Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Femke Bg
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Lamers-Karnebeek
authors.affiliation: Instituto Poal de Reumatologia, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Moller Parera
authors.affiliation: Institute of Rheumatology and Orthopaedics, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia; Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Bethan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Richards
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, UCLA, Santa Monica, California, USA.
authors.forename: Mihaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, UCLA, Santa Monica, California, USA.
authors.forename: Ami
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ben-Artzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Hôpital Ambroise Paré, APHP, Université Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines, Boulogne-Billancourt, France.
authors.forename: Maria-Antonietta
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: D'Agostino
authors.affiliation: Social Psychology and Methodology Department, Faculty of Psychology, Autonomous University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Jesus
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Garrido
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, University Hospital, Sapienza Universita di Roma, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Annamaria
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iagnocco
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003697:Delphi Technique; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008592:Menisci, Tibial / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D054850:Osteophyte / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013583:Synovial Membrane / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D013585:Synovitis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D018608:Ultrasonography, Doppler / Q000379:methods
keywords: Knee Osteoarthritis; Synovitis; Ultrasonography