Study on radiographic grading of ankle joint in adult patients with Kashin-Beck disease in Shaanxi and Gansu Province, China.

OBJECTIVES

This paper aims to establish an X-ray imaging grading for assessing ankle joints in adult Kashin-Beck disease (KBD) and investigate its correlation with clinical grading of finger and ankle pain.

METHODS

The study involved 160 adult KBD patients (a total of 320 ankles) as the case group and 170 matched healthy subjects (a total of 340 ankles) as the control group. Digital radiographs of bilateral ankle joints were obtained, and the talus trochlea angle was measured according to the radiographs. The X-ray grading of adult KBD ankles was conducted using the Kellgren-Lawrence grading as a reference. Correlation analysis was performed to study the relationship between X-ray grading and clinical grading of the finger.

RESULT: The X-ray imaging of KBD ankle joints was categorized into grades 0-IV, with grade IV further divided into subtypes a, b, c, and d. There was a weak correlation between ankle X-ray grading and the clinical grading of the fingers in patients with KBD (r = 0.208, p = 0.001). There was a significant correlation between X-ray grading and ankle pain (r = 0.610, p = 0.000), but almost no correlation between ankle pain and the clinical grading of the finger (r = 0.101, p = 0.071).

CONCLUSION

This study introduced an X-ray grading method for KBD ankles, although it showed weak correlation with the clinical grading of the fingers. Importantly, a moderate correlation was identified between X-ray grading and ankle pain, but almost no significant link was established between ankle pain and the clinical grading of the finger.