Abstract

Juvenile osteochondritis dissecans (JOCD) is an orthopedic joint disorder of children and adolescents that can lead to premature osteoarthritis. Thirteen patients (mean age: 12.3 years, 4 females), 15 JOCD-affected and five contralateral healthy knees, that had a baseline and a follow-up MRI (mean interval of 8.9 months) and were treated non-operatively during this interval were included. Retrospectively, patients were assigned to operative or non-operative groups based on their electronic medical records. Volumetric mean T2 * values were calculated within regions of interest (progeny lesion, interface, parent bone) and region matched control bone in healthy contralateral knees and condyles. The normalized percentage difference of T2 * between baseline and follow up MRI in non-operative patients significantly increased in progeny lesion (-47.8%, p < 0.001), parent bone (-13.9%, p < 0.001), and interface (-32.3%, p = 0.011), whereas the differences in operative patients were non-significant and below 11%. In non-operative patients, the progeny lesion (p < 0.001) and interface T2 * values (p = 0.012) were significantly higher than control bone T2 * at baseline, but not at follow-up (p = 0.219, p=1.000, respectively). In operative patients, the progeny lesion and interface T2 * values remained significantly elevated compared to the control bone both at baseline (p < 0.001, p < 0.001) and follow-up (p < 0.001, p < 0.001), respectively. Clinical Significance: Longitudinal T2 * mapping differentiated non-healing from healing JOCD lesions following initial non-operative treatment, which may assist in prognosis and improve the ability of surgeons to make recommendations regarding operative versus non-operative treatment. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

View details for DOI 10.1002/jor.25343

View details for PubMedID 35430743