Diagnostic Performance of Ultrasound to Evaluate Mild Hip Osteoarthritis: Comparison With Radiography and MRI

To study the diagnostic performance of ultrasound (US) in mild hip osteoarthritis (HOA) compared to conventional radiography (CR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Fifty-eight patients referred to CR for suspected HOA with at least unilateral Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) 2 change in the CRs were recruited. Bilateral hip US and MRI (n = 116) were performed, and patients filled the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) bilaterally. A sum US score was formed, and its correlation to KL grades and VAS scores was tested. Descriptive statistics, Chi square and McNemar's test, Spearman correlation, and linear regression analysis were applied as statistical techniques.

US and CR showed similar moderate diagnostic performance compared to MRI with moderate correlation (r = 0.449) between US sum score and KL grades. With pain associations, US sum score showed an OR = 1.725 (CI 1.169-2.546) and KL grades an OR = 2.058 (CI 1.038-4.082).

US and CR demonstrated similar moderate diagnostic capability in detecting mild HOA compared to MRI, and both the US sum score and KL grades were associated with increased hip pain. With US and CR demonstrating different aspects of HOA, our findings support the complementary role of US in evaluating patients with suspected HOA.