Can optical spectral transmission assess ultrasound-detected synovitis in hand osteoarthritis?

Abstract

ObjectiveTo determine whether optical spectral transmission (OST) can be used to assess synovitis in hand and wrist joints of patients with hand osteoarthritis (OA).DesignHand and wrist joints of 47 primary hand OA patients with at least one clinically inflamed hand or wrist joint were assessed for synovitis by OST and ultrasound (US). Associations between standardized OST and US synovitis were studied in linear mixed effects models, across all joint types together and individually for wrist, proximal interphalangeal (PIP), and distal interphalangeal (DIP) joints, and were adjusted for OA features that showed associations with US synovitis. Diagnostic performance was determined using receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves analysis, with US as reference standard.ResultsAltogether, 6.7% of joints showed US synovitis. Statistically significant associations between OST scores and US synovitis were found for all joints combined (Δ0.37SD, pConclusionsOST scores and US synovitis are statistically significantly associated, independent of osteophytes and dorsal vascularity. At this stage, OST performs fair in the assessment of synovitis in PIP joints of hand OA patients.