Arthroscopic evaluation of chondropathy in knee osteoarthritis

Knee arthroscopy under local anesthesia is an invasive, highly informative diagnostic method. It allows the gross evaluation of pathological changes in joint cartilage in knee osteoarthritis. The evaluation of chondropathy is usually performed using a four-degree scale or using a visual analog scale. The main characteristics of arthroscopy can be summarized as follows: simplicity, high intrinsic validity, good extrinsic validity, intra- and interobserver reliability. Arthroscopy has a high degree of clinical relevance and sensitivity to pathological changes.