Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33581741›Full record

ArticleArthritis research & therapy2021

Detection of knee synovitis using non-contrast-enhanced qDESS compared with contrast-enhanced MRI.

Bas A de Vries, Stephan J Breda, Bragi Sveinsson, Emily J McWalter, Duncan E Meuffels, Gabriel P Krestin, Brian A Hargreaves, Garry E Gold, Edwin H G Oei

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Arthritis research & therapy, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
17citing papers in PubMed
3.7field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

17 citing papers in PubMed, 29 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
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  4. Advances in molecular imaging for osteoarthritis.Connective tissue research · 2025
    Review
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. Article
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  9. Article
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  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Imaging of Synovial Inflammation in Osteoarthritis, From theAJR. American journal of roentgenology · 2022
    Review
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Latest advancements in imaging techniques in OA.Therapeutic advances in musculoskeletal disease · 2022
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Bas A de VriesDepartment of Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, Erasmus MC, Doctor Molewaterplein 40, 3015 GD, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Stephan J BredaDepartment of Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, Erasmus MC, Doctor Molewaterplein 40, 3015 GD, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Bragi SveinssonDepartment of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA.
Emily J McWalterDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
Duncan E MeuffelsDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Gabriel P KrestinDepartment of Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, Erasmus MC, Doctor Molewaterplein 40, 3015 GD, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Brian A HargreavesDepartment of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, USA.
Garry E GoldDepartment of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, USA.
Edwin H G OeiDepartment of Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, Erasmus MC, Doctor Molewaterplein 40, 3015 GD, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. e.oei@erasmusmc.nl.ORCID 0000-0003-3727-3427
Erasmus MC · NLStanford University · USHarvard University · USUniversity of Saskatchewan · CA

Funding

Rapid Low-Cost Quantitative 3D MRI and Gait Assessment of the KneeR01AR077604 · NIAMS · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI HARGREAVES, BRIAN ANDREW · 2020 to 2024
$3.2M
NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR077604
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTo assess diagnostic accuracy of quantitative double-echo in steady-state (qDESS) MRI for detecting synovitis in knee osteoarthritis (OA).

methodsPatients with different degrees of radiographic knee OA were included prospectively. All underwent MRI with both qDESS and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (CE-MRI). A linear combination of the two qDESS images can be used to create an image that displays contrast between synovium and the synovial fluid. Synovitis on both qDESS and CE-MRI was assessed semi-quantitatively, using a whole-knee synovitis sum score, indicating no/equivocal, mild, moderate, and severe synovitis. The correlation between sum scores of qDESS and CE-MRI (reference standard) was determined using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient for absolute agreement. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was performed to assess the diagnostic performance of qDESS for detecting different degrees of synovitis, with CE-MRI as reference standard.

resultsIn the 31 patients included, very strong correlation was found between synovitis sum scores on qDESS and CE-MRI (ρ = 0.96, p < 0.001), with high absolute agreement (0.84 (95%CI 0.14-0.95)). Mean sum score (SD) values on qDESS 5.16 (3.75) were lower than on CE-MRI 7.13 (4.66), indicating systematically underestimated synovitis severity on qDESS. For detecting mild synovitis or higher, high sensitivity and specificity were found for qDESS (1.00 (95%CI 0.80-1.00) and 0.909 (0.571-1.00), respectively). For detecting moderate synovitis or higher, sensitivity and specificity were good (0.727 (95%CI 0.393-0.927) and 1.00 (0.800-1.00), respectively).

conclusionqDESS MRI is able to, however with an underestimation, detect synovitis in patients with knee OA.

Indexed as

Osteoarthritis, KneeSynovitisHumansKnee JointMagnetic Resonance ImagingSynovial FluidSynovial MembraneHumansInflammationKneeMagnetic resonance imagingOsteoarthritisSynovitis

Identifiers

PMID33581741
PMCPMC7881494
OpenAlexW3129782054

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.