Early Knee Osteoarthritis Classification and Clinical Evolution: A Longitudinal Observational Pilot Study

Abstract

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is one of the main problems of an aging society in terms of incidence, impairment to the quality of daily living (QOL), and economics. The main aim of this study was to verify the usefulness, in practical terms, of applying the existing diagnostic criteria of early knee osteoarthritis (EKOA). The secondary objective of this project was to evaluate the clinical progression of healthy subjects (HS) at risk of osteoarthritis and of patients with diagnosed EKOA. A cross-sectional longitudinal pilot study was carried out, in which 105 participants were classified as EKOA patients or HS according to the diagnostic criteria. Measures of disability, pain, and self-reported variables were assessed. Two follow-ups were performed in order to assess the diagnoses and radiological progression, and the clinical progression was evaluated using self-reported measures. Following the current diagnostic criteria, the participants were divided into EKOA and HS. Most of the participants did not present changes in their classification, although some subjects were reclassified as EKOA or HS in the follow-ups which were performed. The current classification criteria for EKOA based on self-reported measures, radiological findings, and clinical conditions such as pain could lead to a misdiagnosis of this process, as fluctuations in the classifications of patients according to their conditions were found during follow up.