To investigate the prevalence and progression of early radiographic osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip and knee on different radiographic views, to determine whether different radiographic views have additional value in detecting early hip and knee radiographic OA cases or progression.
In the Cohort Hip and Cohort Knee (CHECK) study (n = 1,002), 5 different radiographs were obtained: an anteroposterior and faux profile view of the hips, and posteroanterior, mediolateral, and skyline views of the knees. The prevalence of radiographic OA was estimated based on each view separately and in combinations. We determined whether different radiographic views have additional value in detecting and determining the progression of radiographic OA cases, compared to standard projections.
In the hip, we found 22.9% more cases when we combined both views. In the knee, we detected 79.7% more radiographic OA cases when we combined information from all 3 different radiographic views than when using only the posteroanterior view. Progression was seen in 33.1% more cases when using 2 hip radiographs, and in 65.1% more cases when using 3 knee radiographs.
The use of different radiographic views increased the number of participants classified as having radiographic OA in an early OA cohort, both at baseline and at followup. The progression of early radiographic OA is demonstrated more frequently when multiple different radiographic views are used.