Knee synovial changes detected by ultrasound in the general population
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Knee synovial changes detected by ultrasound in the general population: cross sectional study
IRAS ID
188820
Contact name
Michael Doherty
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Nottingham
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 31 days
Research summary
An ultrasound scan is a valuable and very safe imaging method to examine knee joints for the presence of any increased joint fluid (an “effusion”), thickening of the soft joint lining (the synovium), and increased blood flow within the synovium (synovial perfusion) - all of which reflect joint inflammation. It remains unclear as to whether inflammation contributes directly to knee pain in people with knee osteoarthritis (OA), because these signs may be found not only in knees with OA but also in some people without knee pain or any x-ray changes of OA. Furthermore, although ultrasound is used widely by doctors to improve the diagnosis of a wide range of different types of arthritis, we still do not know what is the average amount of fluid or thickness of joint lining in people from the general population, and whether this changes normally with age, differs between men and women, or differs between right and left knees.
The purpose of this study is to try and determine the characteristics of ultrasound-detected features (fluid, thickness of synovium and perfusion) in men and women of different ages from the general population of the East Midlands.
200 volunteers will be invited from a large community sample of people who responded to a postal questionnaire about knee health and general health. The initial appointment, involving knee ultrasound and bilateral knee radiographs, will be held at Nottingham City Hospital and take around 2 hours.
We hope that the results of this study will lead to a better understanding of the variation in synovial changes in people over 40 years old which may be further used to improve the diagnosis of synovial abnormalities in people with knee pain or arthritis.
REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/EM/0529
Date of REC Opinion
19 Jan 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion