TITLE:
Experience of Patients Undergoing Mini-Arthroscopy Compared to MRI in the Earliest Phases of Arthritis
AUTHORS:
Maria J. H. de Hair, Marleen G. H. van de Sande, Mario Maas, Danielle M. Gerlag, Paul P. Tak
KEYWORDS:
Arthritis; Rheumatoid; Synovium; Arthroscopy; MRI
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Clinical Medicine,
Vol.4 No.12B,
December
27,
2013
ABSTRACT: Objective: To evaluate the expectations and experience of
patients undergoing mini-arthroscopy compared to contrast enhanced MRI for
research purposes. Methods: Seventeen
patients with early, active arthritis (Group A) and 21 autoantibody-positive individuals without any evidence of
arthritis upon physical examination (Group B) were included. All subjects
underwent both contrast enhanced MRI and synovial biopsy sampling by mini-arthroscopy
of the same joint within one week. At inclusion and after both procedures,
subjects filled in questionnaires with items about expectations and experience
with regard to the procedures. Results: Before procedures, subjects in
group B had a higher fear of and reluctance to undergo
mini-arthroscopy compared to MRI (p , 42% of the subjects preferred MRI, 11% of the subjects preferred
mini-arthroscopy and 47% had no preference for either
procedure. After both procedures, subjects preferences changed to 39% for MRI,
32% for mini-arthroscopy and 29% for no preference for one or the other
procedure. When comparing Group A with Group B, there were no significant differences in preference before and after
the procedures. Conclusion: Synovial
biopsy sampling by mini-arthroscopy for
analysis of synovial inflammation is a well-experienced procedure when compared
to contrast enhanced MRI. These results support the use of mini-arthroscopy in
a research setting from a patient perspective.