Synovectomy of the rheumatoid knee using intra-articular injection of dysprosium-165-ferric hydroxide macroaggregates
Sledge, C.B.; Zuckerman, J.D.; Shortkroff, S.; Zalutsky, M.R.; Venkatesan, P.; Snyder, M.A.; Barrett, W.P.
Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. American Volume 69(7): 970-975
1987
ISSN/ISBN: 0021-9355 PMID: 3654709 Document Number: 302229
One hundred and eleven patients who had seropositive rheumatoid arthritis and persistent synovitis of the knee were treated with intra-articular injection of 270 millicuries of dysprosium-165 bound to ferric hydroxide macroaggregates. A two-year follow-up was available for fifty-nine of the treated knees. Thirty-nine had a good result; nine, a fair result; and eleven, a poor result. Of the twenty-five knees that had Stage-I radiographic changes, nineteen had a good result. Of the thirty-four knees that had Stage-II radiographic changes, twenty showed a good result. Systemic spread of the radioactivity from the injected joint was minimum. The mean whole-body dose was calculated to be 0.3 rad and that to the liver twenty-four hours after injection, 3.2 rads. The results indicated that dysprosium-165-ferric hydroxide macroaggregate is an effective agent for performing radiation synovectomy, particularly in knees that have Stage-I radiographic changes. Because of the minimum rate of systemic spread of the dysprosium-165, it offers a definite advantage over agents that previously have been used.