Imaging Improves Orthopedic Outcomes

Potter, M.D., chief of MRI department at the Hospital for Special Surgery (New York, NY, USA).

Dr. Potter presented her results at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) in Washington (DC, USA) on February 24, 2005. "Doctors treating patients for orthopedic problems often witness a placebo effect. It's not surprising because people want to feel better, especially when orthopedic problems are hindering their daily activities,” said Dr. Potter. "With time and after treatment, patients may feel better, but sometimes the underlying biology for that patient's problem tells a very different story.”

Observable clinical outcomes such as stair climbing and walking ability are still important measures for patients who have persistent tendon or joint damage, severe arthritis, or undergone joint replacement surgery, according to Dr. Potter. She also commented that imaging technology "should be held to the same degree of rigor as any clinical outcome instrument, and should be validated with regards to accuracy and reproducibility.”

"In osteoarthritis, new imaging techniques permit early disease detection, serve as an objective outcome measure for cartilage repair procedures, and also provide a measure by which to assess disease modification with pharmaceutical intervention,” Dr. Potter said. "At the end of the clinical spectrum of osteoarthritis [arthroplasty], new imaging techniques allow for more sensitive and earlier detection of particle disease, with noninvasive and more precise quantification of bone loss, as well as detection of synovial reaction at the origin of the adverse biologic reaction.”




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