Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39995588›Full record

ReviewOsteoarthritis and cartilage open2025

Assessing SPECT/CT for the identification of cartilage lesions in the knee joint: A systematic review.

Larissa Rix, Samuel Tushingham, Karina Wright, Martyn Snow

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Osteoarthritis and cartilage open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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

4 authors.

Larissa RixThe Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital Foundation Trust, Oswestry, SY10 7AG, United Kingdom.
Samuel TushinghamThe Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust, Shrewsbury, United Kingdom.
Karina WrightThe Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital Foundation Trust, Oswestry, SY10 7AG, United Kingdom.
Martyn SnowThe Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital Foundation Trust, Oswestry, SY10 7AG, United Kingdom.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Single-photon emission computerised tomography with conventional computer tomography (SPECT/CT) is an emerging technology which may hold clinical value for the identification of cartilage lesions in the knee joint. The intensity and distribution of SPECT/CT uptake tracer may identify physiological and structural information in the absence of structural change on other imaging modalities. Objectives: To systematically assess the utility of SPECT/CT in the detection of chondral lesions within the knee joint, in patients presenting with knee pain, with or without structural change. Results: PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Knowledge, and NHS databases were searched for English language articles focusing on the diagnostic value of SPECT/CT for knee chondral lesions and knee pain. Animal studies, cadaver studies, comparator radiological technique other than SPECT/CT or patients with a pathology other than knee chondral lesions were excluded. From the search, 11,982 manuscripts were identified, and screened for relevance. Seven studies were identified and scored low on QUADAS-2 bias review. SPECT/CT correlated with lesions found on other imaging modalities and during intraoperative assessment. Furthermore, in some cases, SPECT/CT out-performed other modalities in the detection of cartilage lesions. Conclusion: Evidence suggests SPECT/CT may be a useful tool for the detection and localisation of cartilage lesions, particularly in discrepant cases when there is an absence of lesions on other imaging modalities, or a lack of correlation with patients' symptoms. Further studies are required to confirm the conclusions of this review.

Indexed as

Cartilage lesionsDiagnosticsImagingKnee painNuclear medicineSPECT/CT

Identifiers

PMID39995588
PMCPMC11849615

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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.