Ultrasonographic Measurement of Femoral Cartilage Thickness in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis

The aim of this study was to investigate the femoral cartilage thickness (FCT) by ultrasound in patients with knee osteoarthritis and compare them with those of healthy subjects. Methods and Results: This cross-sectional study included 44 patients diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis (OA) and 49 healthy subjects. The FCT was measured using an L5-18 MHz linear probe. Measurements were taken from both knee joints in three regions: the medial condyle, lateral condyle, and intercondylar area. Our results showed thinner cartilage in OA patients than in the healthy subjects at the three examined locations bilaterally (medial condyle, lateral condyle, intercondylar area). In OA patients, FCT correlated positively with body mass index at the right lateral condyle, right intercondylar area, and left medial condyle (P<0.05). Conclusion: Our study revealed thinner FCT in patients with knee OA than in healthy subjects. Further studies considering the stratification of different stages of OA could yield better results.