Correlation of the Kellgren-Lawrence Scale with the Outerbridge Classification in Patients with Chronic Gonalgia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rccot.2020.06.012Keywords:
arthroscopy, osteoarthritis, radiography, outerbridge, Kellgren-LawrenceAbstract
Background: The correlation between radiographic and arthroscopic scales for the degree of joint injury in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) is inconsistent. The study seeks to determine the correlation between the degree of joint injury according to the Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) radiographic scale and the Outerbridge (CO) arthroscopic classification.
Methods: Adult patients (> 18 years) with chronic gonalgia were analyzed by evaluating the knee radiographs according to the KL scale. Subsequently, the same patients underwent arthroscopy where the degree of chondral injury was assessed according to CO. A Spearman correlation was made between the rating scales. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value of radiography to diagnose OA (grade> 1 in CO) were calculated.
Results: 80 patients were analyzed, 52.5% were women. The KL radiographic classification showed an average sensitivity of 90.2%, specificity of 24.6%, PPV of 86.3% and NPV of 32.0% to diagnose any degree of OA in relation to CO. On average, a moderate to low correlation (Rho 0.40, p < 0.001) was found between the KL scale and the CO. The percentage of correspondence between the grades of KL and CO was 17.5% on average.
Discussion: The KL classification is sensitive for diagnosing OA in the knees, however, our study suggests that it is not very specific and has a moderate correlation with the degrees of injury diagnosed by arthroscopy using CO.
Evidence Level: IV.
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