Ultrasonographic measurement of the femoral cartilage thickness in patients with transfemoral amputation


Onat Ş. Ş., Malas F. Ü., Öztürk G. T., Ekiz T., Akkaya N., Özbudak Demir S., ...More

Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, vol.29, no.4, pp.841-844, 2016 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 29 Issue: 4
  • Publication Date: 2016
  • Doi Number: 10.3233/bmr-160697
  • Journal Name: Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.841-844
  • Keywords: Femoral cartilage, medial femoral condyle, transfemoral amputation, ultrasound
  • Gazi University Affiliated: No

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To compare the distal femoral cartilage thickness of the non-amputee sides in patients who had unilateral transfemoral amputation with those of healthy subjects by using ultrasound. METHODS: Thirty transfemoral amputees (27 male, 3 female) and 30 age-, sex-, and body mass index-matched healthy controls were included. Functional usage of the prosthesis was evaluated by using Houghton score. The cartilage thickness was measured from the following midpoints; medial femoral condyle (MFC), intercondylar area, and lateral femoral condyle. RESULTS: Thirty patients with unilateral transfemoral amputation (mean age; 38.6 ± 9.5 years) and 30 healthy controls (mean age; 38.4 ± 9.4 years) were included. Although femoral cartilage thicknesses were found to be lower for all measurements in the amputees, the difference reached significance only in the MFC (p = 0.031). In the patient group, cartilage thickness values did not correlate with age, duration of amputation, daily walking time, stump length or Houghton score. CONCLUSION: The distal femoral cartilage thickness seems to be decreased medially on the non-amputee sides of the transfemoral amputees when compared with the healthy subjects. Further studies concerning the follow-up designs, functional parameters and osteoarthritis scales are awaited.