Synoviorthesis with radioactive gold in hemophiliacs. Clinical and radiological follow-up.

Twenty-seven patients with hemophilia treated with intra-articular injection of radioactive gold were followed up clinically and radiologically for 3 to 9 years after treatment. To assess the radiological changes, a new classification was designed, with a score describing the severity of the changes in a more accurate manner than the methods previously used. The treatment decreased the bleeding frequency and stopped the progress of the arthropathy if applied at an early stage when the arthropathy was still reversible. If the treatment was begun at a later stage, the arthropathy seemed to progress independently of the effect on the bleeding frequency. No negative effect of the radioactive gold was observed on the joint or the growing zone.