MR Imaging of Hemosiderin Deposition in the Ankle Joints of Patients with Haemophilia: The Contribution of a Multi-Echo Gradient-Echo Sequence—Correlation with Osteochondral Changes and the Number and Chronicity of Joint Bleeds

Abstract

We aim (a) to introduce an easy-to-perform multi-echo gradient-echo sequence (mGRE) for the detection of hemosiderin deposition in the ankle joints of boys with haemophilia (b) to explore the associations between the presence and severity of hemosiderin deposition and the other components of haemophilic arthropathy, the clinical score, and the number and chronicity of joint bleeds. An MRI of 41 ankle joints of 21 haemophilic boys was performed on a 3 T MRI system using an mGRE sequence in addition to the conventional protocol. Conventional MRI and mGRE were separately and independently assessed by three readers, namely, two musculoskeletal radiologists and a general radiologist for joint hemosiderin. We set as a reference the consensus reading of the two musculoskeletal radiologists, who also evaluated the presence of synovial thickening, effusion, and osteochondral changes. Excellent inter-reader agreement was obtained using the mGRE sequence compared to the conventional protocol (ICC: 0.95–0.97 versus 0.48–0.89), with superior sensitivity (90–95% versus 50–85%), specificity (95.2–100% versus 76.2–95.2%), and positive (95–100% versus 71–94.4%) and negative predictive value (91.3–95.5% versus 87–63%). Hemosiderin deposition was associated with osteochondral changes, synovial thickening, clinical score, and the total number of ankle bleeds, while it was inversely related with the time elapsed between the last joint bleed and MRI. (p < 0.05). The application of an mGRE sequence significantly improved hemosiderin detection, even when performed by the less experienced reader. Joint hemosiderin deposition was associated with the other components of haemophilic arthropathy and was mostly apparent in recent joint bleeds.

Keywords

• haemophilia
• haemophilic arthropathy
• MRI
• hemosiderin deposition
• joint bleeds
• hemarthrosis