Ultrasonographic measurements of joint cartilage thickness in healthy children: age- and sex-related standard reference values.

OBJECTIVE: Loss of joint cartilage may be an early feature of chronic inflammatory joint diseases like juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Conventional radiography usually detects only late changes such as joint space narrowing and bone erosion rather than early inflammatory changes. Joint cartilage is easily visualized with high-frequency ultrasonography (US), but age- and gender-related normal standard reference values should be established before US measurement of cartilage thickness becomes standard procedure in the clinic.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study of bilateral grey-scale US cartilage thickness of the knee, ankle, wrist, and second metacarpophalangeal (MCP) and second proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joints was performed in 394 (215 boys/179 girls) healthy Danish Caucasian children aged between 7 and 16 years.
RESULTS: Cartilage thickness differed significantly between sexes (p < 0.001 for all joints), boys having thicker cartilage than girls. Cartilage thickness clearly decreased with increasing age in both sexes. A formula for calculating sex-specific cartilage thickness at different ages in childhood is suggested. No difference between the right and left side of the investigated joints was observed.
CONCLUSION: Using US, we established age- and sex-related normal reference intervals for cartilage thickness of the knee, ankle, wrist, and MCP and PIP joints in 7- to 16-year-old children, and designed a formula for calculating hyaline cartilage thickness in all age groups throughout childhood.