Comparative analysis of MRI findings of cartilage morphology and T2 value in knee osteoarthritis

ObjectiveTo compare the changes of MRI morphological score and T2 value of cartilage injury in knee osteoarthritis(OA).

MethodsSixty-five knee OA patients and 10 healthy subjects were selected to undergo MRI scanning of sagittal 3D-WATSc and T2 mapping.The patients were divided into mild(OA1), moderate(OA2) and severe(OA3) groups.The correlation between T2 value of cartilage and the whole-organ magnetic resonance imaging score (WORMS) in each sub-region of OA groups was evaluated, and the difference of T2 value in each sub-region among three groups was compared.

ResultsExcept for the lateral region of femoral, T2 values were positively correlated with WORMS scores in OA groups(r=0.657-r=0.854, P < 0.05), and the differences of T2 values in other sub-regions were statistically significant (P < 0.01).The sensitivity of T2 value in patella, medial region of femoral and medial region of tibia to detect the pre-pathological changes of cartilage morphology of knee OA was 78.3%, 68.2% and 54.8%, respectively, and the specificity was 100%, 80% and 70%, respectively.

ConclusionsBoth the MRI semi-quantitative evaluation index WORMS, and the MRI quantitative evaluation index T2 value can effectively evaluate the change of knee OA cartilage.T2 value can differentiate the severity of cartilage injury of knee OA, and discover the cartilage lesions before morphological changes.