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Quantitative evaluation of the tibiofemoral joint cartilage by T2 mapping in patients with acute anterior cruciate ligament injury vs contralateral knees : results from the subacute phase using data from the NACOX study cohort

Casula, V. ; Tajik, B. E. ; Kvist, J. ; Frobell, R. LU ; Haapea, M. ; Nieminen, M. T. ; Gauffin, H. and Englund, M. LU orcid (2022) In Osteoarthritis and Cartilage 30(7). p.987-997
Abstract

Objective: Immediate cartilage structural alterations in the acute phase after an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture may be a precursor to posttraumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) development. Our aim was to describe changes in cartilage matrix in the subacute phase of the acutely ACL-injured knee compared to the contralateral uninjured knee. Design: Participants (n = 118) aged 15–40 years with an acute ACL injury were consecutively included in subacute phase after acute ACL-injury and underwent MRI (mean 29 days post trauma) of both knees. Mean T2 relaxation times, T2 spatial coefficient of variation and cartilage thickness were determined for different regions of the tibiofemoral cartilage. Differences between the acutely ACL-injured... (More)

Objective: Immediate cartilage structural alterations in the acute phase after an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture may be a precursor to posttraumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) development. Our aim was to describe changes in cartilage matrix in the subacute phase of the acutely ACL-injured knee compared to the contralateral uninjured knee. Design: Participants (n = 118) aged 15–40 years with an acute ACL injury were consecutively included in subacute phase after acute ACL-injury and underwent MRI (mean 29 days post trauma) of both knees. Mean T2 relaxation times, T2 spatial coefficient of variation and cartilage thickness were determined for different regions of the tibiofemoral cartilage. Differences between the acutely ACL-injured and uninjured knee were evaluated using Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: T2 relaxation time in injured knees was increased in multiple cartilage regions from both medial and lateral compartment compared to contralateral knees, mostly in medial trochlea and posterior tibia (P-value<0.001). In the same sites of injured knees, we observed significantly thinner cartilage. Moreover, injured knees presented shorter T2 relaxation time in superficial cartilage on lateral central femur and trochlea (P-value<0.001), and decreased T2 spatial coefficient of variation in lateral trochlea and load bearing regions of medial-central femoral condyle and central tibia in both compartments. Conclusion: Small but statistically significant differences were observed in the subacute phase between ACL-injured and uninjured knee in cartilage T2 relaxation time and cartilage thickness. Future longitudinal observations of the same cohort will allow for better understanding of early development of PTOA. Trial registration number: NCT02931084.

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author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
ACL, PTOA, T2-mapping
in
Osteoarthritis and Cartilage
volume
30
issue
7
pages
11 pages
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85129037300
  • pmid:35421548
ISSN
1063-4584
DOI
10.1016/j.joca.2022.02.623
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
a7aa44e3-951b-4264-aeaf-3715e34c6d2e
date added to LUP
2022-07-04 13:49:02
date last changed
2024-09-17 05:42:59
@article{a7aa44e3-951b-4264-aeaf-3715e34c6d2e,
  abstract     = {{<p>Objective: Immediate cartilage structural alterations in the acute phase after an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture may be a precursor to posttraumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) development. Our aim was to describe changes in cartilage matrix in the subacute phase of the acutely ACL-injured knee compared to the contralateral uninjured knee. Design: Participants (n = 118) aged 15–40 years with an acute ACL injury were consecutively included in subacute phase after acute ACL-injury and underwent MRI (mean 29 days post trauma) of both knees. Mean T2 relaxation times, T2 spatial coefficient of variation and cartilage thickness were determined for different regions of the tibiofemoral cartilage. Differences between the acutely ACL-injured and uninjured knee were evaluated using Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: T2 relaxation time in injured knees was increased in multiple cartilage regions from both medial and lateral compartment compared to contralateral knees, mostly in medial trochlea and posterior tibia (P-value&lt;0.001). In the same sites of injured knees, we observed significantly thinner cartilage. Moreover, injured knees presented shorter T2 relaxation time in superficial cartilage on lateral central femur and trochlea (P-value&lt;0.001), and decreased T2 spatial coefficient of variation in lateral trochlea and load bearing regions of medial-central femoral condyle and central tibia in both compartments. Conclusion: Small but statistically significant differences were observed in the subacute phase between ACL-injured and uninjured knee in cartilage T2 relaxation time and cartilage thickness. Future longitudinal observations of the same cohort will allow for better understanding of early development of PTOA. Trial registration number: NCT02931084.</p>}},
  author       = {{Casula, V. and Tajik, B. E. and Kvist, J. and Frobell, R. and Haapea, M. and Nieminen, M. T. and Gauffin, H. and Englund, M.}},
  issn         = {{1063-4584}},
  keywords     = {{ACL; PTOA; T2-mapping}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{7}},
  pages        = {{987--997}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Osteoarthritis and Cartilage}},
  title        = {{Quantitative evaluation of the tibiofemoral joint cartilage by T2 mapping in patients with acute anterior cruciate ligament injury vs contralateral knees : results from the subacute phase using data from the NACOX study cohort}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2022.02.623}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.joca.2022.02.623}},
  volume       = {{30}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}