Hemophilic arthropathy of the knee joint: static and dynamic Gd-DTPA — enhanced MRI

A total of 17 patients with hemophilic arthropathy of the knee joint were studied with static and dynamic MRI before and after an IV bolus injection of Gadolinium-DTPA (Gd-DTPA; 0.1 mmol/kg body weight). The T1-weighted spin-echo (SE) and gradient-echo (fast-field echo FFE]) sequences were applied. The FFE sequences of eight consecutive scans carried out over a time interval of 160 s were used in order to determine the time to signal intensity (SI) curves of the synovial proliferations surrounding soft tissue, bone marrow, and joint effusion. After the administration of a contrast agent, synovial proliferations exhibited an increase on FFE and SE images of 47.7 % (SD ± 14.3 %) and 37.4 % (SD ± 11.2 %), respectively, whereas muscle and fatty tissue, tendons, bone marrow, and joint effusion revealed only a minor increase in SI. The gradient of SI (ratio SI/time) of pannus was 39.6 %/min (SD ± 7.7 %/min) and differed significantly (P < 0.001) from that of bone marrow, fatty tissue, muscle tissue, tendons, and joint effusion (P < 0.05). In contrast to synovial proliferations in rheumatoid arthritis, no differentiation between various pannus vascularities based on the degree of enhancement was possible. The Gd-DTPA-enhanced MRI studies delineate and quantify the synovial proliferations in hemophilic arthropathy. Dynamic studies in hemophilic arthropathy do not provide qualitative assessment of the inflammatory process. Correspondence to: M. Nägele