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Prevalence and distribution of MRI abnormalities in the articular cartilage and supporting ligaments in patients with early clinical stage first carpometacarpal joint osteoarthritis

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Abstract

Objective

We used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to evaluate where articular degeneration begins and which ligaments are most often involved in the early clinical stage first carpometacarpal joint (CMCJ-1) osteoarthritis.

Materials and methods

We retrospectively analyzed the MRI findings of 26 patients with early clinical stage CMCJ-1 osteoarthritis and no radiologic abnormalities and 19 control patients without CMCJ-1 pain or osteoarthritis who underwent MRI for dorsal or ulnar wrist pain. Two observers blinded to group and clinical findings independently assessed the presence of chondral defects in four quadrants of the CMCJ-1: volar-ulnar (VU), volar-radial (VR), dorso-ulnar (DU), and dorso-radial (DR). The integrity of the four major ligaments of the CMCJ-1, i.e., the anterior oblique ligament (AOL), the intermetacarpal ligament (IML), the posterior oblique ligament (POL), and the dorsal radial ligament (DRL), was assessed. The observer reliability was analyzed using Cohen’s kappa coefficient. The prevalence of cartilage lesions and ligament abnormalities in the osteoarthritic and control patients was compared using Fisher’s exact test.

Results

Cartilage lesions were significantly more common in the VU quadrant of the trapezium in the osteoarthritic patients than in the control patients (17/26 vs. 2/19; P = 0.002). AOL abnormalities were more common in the osteoarthritic patients than in the control patients (14/26 vs. 3/19; P = 0.009).

Conclusion

The MRI findings of early clinical stage CMCJ-1 osteoarthritis commonly demonstrated cartilage lesions in the VU quadrant of the trapezium and ligament abnormalities in the AOL.

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Author information

Author notes

  1. Kee Jeong Bae and Hyo Seok Jang contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea

    Kee Jeong Bae

  2. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Inje University Haeundae Paik Hospital, Busan, South Korea

    Hyo Seok Jang

  3. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, 300 Gumi-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do, 463-707, South Korea

    Hyun Sik Gong

  4. Department of Radiology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, South Korea

    Yusuhn Kang

  5. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea

    Jihyeung Kim & Goo Hyun Baek

Authors
  1. Kee Jeong Bae
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  2. Hyo Seok Jang
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  4. Yusuhn Kang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hyun Sik Gong.

Ethics declarations

This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the authors’ hospital (Seoul National University Bundang Hospital IRB No: B-1806-477-102). All investigations were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all participants.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Level of Evidence: Level IV, Diagnostic Study

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Bae, K.J., Jang, H.S., Gong, H.S. et al. Prevalence and distribution of MRI abnormalities in the articular cartilage and supporting ligaments in patients with early clinical stage first carpometacarpal joint osteoarthritis. Skeletal Radiol 49, 1089–1097 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-020-03383-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-020-03383-2

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