[Arthrosonography as a method to assess the degenerative and inflammatory components of knee osteoarthrosis]

Ultrasound examination of the knee joints was performed in 254 patients with Kellgren-Lawrence I to III stage osteoarthrosis using Aloha Pro Sound 5500 device (Japan) and Philips Envision device with 7.5 to 12 MHz linear sensors. Bone contours, the height of the cartilage, the degree of the marginal osteophytosis, the structure of periarticular formations--the bursae, the tendons and their vaginas--as well as the presence and the quantity of articular excaudate, the thickness and changes in the synovian membrane, were evaluated. The degree of marginal osteophytosis detected by ultrasonography in manifest osteoarthrosis was in a direct correlation with the radiological picture. A decrease in cartilage height is an ultrasonographic sign of osteoarthrosis, while detailed evaluation of the stage of the degenerative process using ultrasonography should be based upon the revealing and evaluation of osteophytosis. An increase in the thickness of the knee joint synovian membrane by more than 2 mm according to ultrasound examination in case of prolonged secondary synoviitis evidences both the presence of an inflammatory process and the length of the osteoarthritic disease.