Grading system of articular cartilage degeneration in osteoarthritis of the knee
Koshino, T.; Machida, J.
Bulletin 53(3): 41-46
1993
ISSN/ISBN: 0018-5647 PMID: 8012267 Document Number: 421770
Degenerative findings observed in the articular cartilage of the knee during high tibial osteotomy with arthrotomy, unicompartmental arthroplasty, or total replacement were classified into 9 grades: Grade 0--normal, Grade I--yellow discoloration, Grade II--softening and unevenness, Grade III--fasciculation and attrition, Grade IV-a--erosion, Grade IV-b--ulcer down to subchondral bone, Grade IV-c--eburnation of subchondral bone, Grade V-a--bone destruction in an area less than 5 mm in depth, and Grade V-b--bone destruction in an area 5 mm or more. This series included 63 osteoarthritic knees with varus deformity in 56 Japanese patients (forty nine women and seven men) with an average age of 66.8 years (range: 49-83 years). One knee was Grade II, three were Grade III, ten Grade IV-a, eighteen Grade IV-b, twenty seven Grade IV-c, and four Grade V-b. There was a tendency toward positive correlation between the grade of articular cartilage degeneration and the radiographic grade seen in a standing radiograph.