AB0591 Influence of hand osteoarthritis on the magnitude of knee synovial effusion and hypertrophy in patients with knee osteoarthritis

Background A significant proportion of patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) show local features of inflammation such as synovial effusion and synovial hypertrophy. On the other hand, in recent years it has been recognized the existence of a link between hand OA and systemic inflammation. Objectives To evaluate the possible influence of the presence of comorbid OA on the inflammatory features of knee OA measured by ultrasound (US). Methods METHODS: Cross-sectional study including consecutive patients aged 50 years or more with symptomatic OA of the knee and joint effusion, moderate radiographic OA (Kellgren-Lawrence II-III). Demographics, BMI, disease duration, pain assessed by VAS (0-100 mm) and algofunctional Lesquesne index were assessed. Knee ultrasound was performed evaluating and measuring the presence of effusion and synovial hypertrophy at the suprapatellar midline. Results We have analyzed 50 patients, F/M 39/11, age 61.8 ±10.1 years, disease duration 44.6 ±44.7 months, BMI 31.4 ±5.1 kg/cm2. Ten patients (20%) had concomitant hand OA. There were no significant differences in age, disease duration, BMI or radiological grade between patients with knee and hand OA compared with those with only knee OA. On ultrasound examination patients with concomitant hand osteoarthritis showed a trend to have a more prominent joint effusion (7.4 ± 3 vs. 7.1 ±2.3 mm) and synovial hypertrophy (3.6 ± 2.6 vs. 2.8 ±2.5 mm), although not statistically differences were found. Patients with concomitant hand OA also had a non-significant trend to experience greater knee pain (VAS 70.3 ±12.5 vs. 60.3 ±18.1 mm) and Lesquesne index scores (11.5 ±3.3 vs. 9.8 ±2.9). Conclusions The results from this study suggest that the coexistence of hand OA appears to be associated with more prominent inflammatory features in patients with knee OA and synovial effusion, although results were not statistically significant probably in relation to small size sample. Disclosure of Interest None Declared