Lack of correlation of synovial histology with joint damage in rheumatoid arthritis.

Twenty-two patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) involving the knee were studied. The systemic features of the disease were graded and the extent of knee involvement was quantified in terms of the clinical, radiological, and arthroscopic appearances. Adequate synovial biopsies were obtained from 21 patients. In these patients no correlation could be found between the severity of any of the features on histological examination nor between any of these features and the extent of local joint damage, inflammation, or the severity of the systemic disease.