Relationship between radiological grading and clinical status in knee osteoarthritis. a multicentric study
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RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access
Rela ionship be ween adiological g ading and
clinical s a us in knee os eoa h i is. a mul icen ic
s udy
Daniel He nández-Vaque o
1*
and José Manuel Fe nández-Ca ei a
2
Abs ac
Backg ound: Con o e sy exis s ega ding he ela ionship be ween adiog aphic indings and clinical s a us in
knee os eoa h i is. Al hough he su gical indica ion o o al knee a h oplas y (TKA) should be based on pain,
clinical s a us, and he de e io a ion o quali y o li e, he adiog aphic s udy is he mos commonly used c i e ion
o p eope a i e e alua ion. The objec i e o his s udy is o ind ou he ela ionship be ween he Ahlbäck
classi ica ion and clinical s a us in pa ien s unde going TKA.
Me hods: 1329 p o ocols we e collec ed om p eope a i e s udies in ou mul icen ic wo king g oups ( he In e ax,
Du acon, Sco pio, and T ia hlon Spanish g oups) in 30 Spanish hospi als. Mean age was 70.4 yea s (SD: 6.8; ange: 35
o 98); 76.3% o pa ien s we e women. Pa ien s en e ed he s udy whene e he su geon ound ha medical
ea men was insu icien o con ol pain and unc ional limi a ion. Da a we e collec ed using elec onic Case
Repo Fo ms, and included Ahlbäck g ading sco es, Hospi al o Special Su ge y Knee Sco e (HSS), SF-12, and o he
clinical and epidemiologic a iables.
Resul s: Acco ding o he Ahlbäck g ading sys em, pa ien s we e di ided as ollows: 243 g ade I (18.3%), 358 g ade
II (26.9%), 416 g ade III (31.3%), 241 g ade IV (18.1%), and 71 g ade V (5.3%). As o HSS, he ollowing sco es we e
ob ained: <60 poin s in 925 pa ien s (69.6%), 60 o 69 poin s in 286 pa ien s (21.5%), 70 o 84 poin s in 112 pa ien s
(8.4%) and 85 o 100 poin s in 6 pa ien s (0.5%). Sco es showed a s a is ically signi ican di e ence depending on
Ahlbäck g ade, wi h a clea endency owa ds dec ease in HSS sco es as he Ahlbäck g ade inc eases (p<0.001).
Howe e , he HSS sco e di e ence be ween Ahlbäck g ades I and V was o 9.56 poin s only. Compa ing he s a us
o he pa ien s a he s a (1994) and a he end (2010) o he da a collec ion p ocess, we obse ed ha pa ien s
who unde wen su ge y in he las yea s we e olde and showed a lowe Ahlbäck g ade.
Conclusions: We ound a ela ionship be ween Ahlbäck g ading and he p eope a i e clinical sco e. The ange o
a iabili y o he HSS sco e be ween he di e en Ahlbäck g ades is small.
Backg ound
Knee Os eoa h i is (OA) is a equen p ocess especially
a ec ing women o e age 50. Among Uni ed S a es adul s,
he p e alence o knee OA and symp oma ic knee OA is
37.4% and 12.1%, espec i ely (4.3 million olde US
adul s). Al hough i may a ec all kinds o people, i is
mo e equen in indi iduals wi h g ea body mass index
(BMI ≥30), g ea e age, aces/e hnici ies such as non-
Hispanic Blacks, and among men wi h manual labo
occupa ions [1]. Con o e sy exis s ega ding he ela ion-
ship be ween adiog aphic and clinical s a us in knee OA
[2]. S anda d adiog aphs o he knee a e an in eg al pa
o he p ima y assessmen o os eoa h i is. Al hough he
Ahlbäck classi ica ion [3] o knee os eoa h i is is o e
50 yea s old, i is s ill commonly used in heuma ology
and o hopedics o he ollow-up o disease p og ession,
and as a classi ica ion c i e ion in clinical ials and epi-
demiological s udies. The Ahlbäck classi ica ion is p ob-
ably he mos quo ed classi ica ion in he li e a u e on
p eope a i e s udies and is also used o su gical indica-
ions such as o al knee a h oplas y (TKA) o unicom-
pa men al knee a h oplas y, a h oscopic deb idemen ,
* Co espondence: [email p o ec ed]
1
School o Medicine, Uni e si y o O iedo, Julian Cla e ia, 6, 33006 O iedo,
As u ias, Spain
Full lis o au ho in o ma ion is a ailable a he end o he a icle
© 2012 He nández-Vaque o and Fe nández-Ca ei a; licensee BioMed Cen al L d. This is an Open Access a icle dis ibu ed
unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License (h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/2.0), which pe mi s
un es ic ed use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed.
He nández-Vaque o and Fe nández-Ca ei a BMC Musculoskele al Diso de s 2012, 13:194
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ibial os eo omy, e c. The Ahlbäck sys em is used o en be-
cause i is a he simple and ough, and hus a good ep o-
ducibili y can be expec ed e en when obse e s a e no
pa icula ly skilled wi h i s use [4].
TKA is a equen ly used p ocedu e o knee a h i is
when conse a i e measu es do no wo k. Al hough he
su gical indica ion o TKA should depend on clinical
s a us, a adiog aphic e alua ion — ollowing he Ahlbäck
c i e ia—is he mos commonly used g ading sys em o
p eope a i e assessmen . Some publica ions by scien i ic
socie ies [5] ha e acknowledged he Ahlbäck classi ica-
ion as a alid aid o he selec ion o he su gical p o-
cedu e. The Hospi al o Special Su ge y Knee-Ra ing
Sco e (HSS) [6] is one he mos egula ly used ques ion-
nai es o assess knee s a us, bo h p eope a i ely and
a e TKA. This classi ica ion sys em assigns a maximum
o 100 poin s, which a e subdi ided in o six ca ego ies:
pain, unc ion, ange o mo ion, muscula s eng h,
lexion con ac u e, and s abili y. Among he ools o
assessing quali y o li e, he Sho Fo m 12 (SF-12) —mo e
p ecisely, i s men al and physical componen s—is one o
he mos widely used, and has been alida ed in se e al
popula ions and coun ies. I is easy o sel -comple e and
i has been employed o ollow he changes in heal h-
ela ed quali y o li e a e a su gical p ocedu e, such as a
TKA [7].
An ad an age o mul icen e s udies is ha hey po -
ay he ac ual si ua ion o he medical p ac ice, as
opposed o o he ypes o s udies which may come om
high-le el, specialized cen e s. The he e ogenei y o he
su geons' le el o aining, age, wo king si ua ion, and
he ac hey wo k a di e en cen e s, en ich he esul s
and may in o m he heal h au ho i ies abou he usage
o a gi en p ocedu e.
The aims o his wo k a e:
1. To analyze he ela ionship be ween he Ahlbäck
g ade and he HSS and SF-12 sco es in a se ies o
knees unde going TKA included in a mul icen ic
s udy o e a 17-yea pe iod.
2. To disco e whe he he e exis s any a ia ion in such
ela ionships depending on he pa ien 's gende and age.
3. To ind ou i he e had been any changes in he
Ahlbäck g ade and he clinical- unc ional s a us o
TKA pa ien s o e he 17-yea pe iod.
The ul ima e goal o ou s udy is o de e mine whe he
classi ying pa ien s acco ding o he Ahlbäck g ading
scale co ela es wi h he clinical and unc ional s a us o
he pa ien s.
Me hods
Du ing a 17-yea pe iod (1994–2010), clinical and adio-
g aphic ques ionnai es o pa ien s wi h knee a h i is
accep ed o TKA ea men in ou mul icen e wo king
g oups (In e ax, Du acon, Sco pio and T ia hlon Spanish
g oups) in 30 gene al hospi als we e collec ed. Fo y-one
su geons we e in ol ed in he s udy. Di e en su geons
had di e en le els o aining, and hospi als a ied
eno mously in e ms o size, le el, and a ea o in luence.
Pa ien s en e ed he s udy whene e he su geon ound
ha physical and medical ea men s (NSAIDs and
analgesics in ake o a leas six mon hs) we e insu i-
cien o con ol pain and a se e e unc ional limi a ion
was p esen . Besides a he p eope a i e assessmen , he
ques ionnai e was illed in wi h da a on he in e en ion
and he clinical and adiog aphic s a us a six mon hs
a e TKA and hen annually. Pa ien s we e excluded
om he s udy i hey needed e ision su ge y o i hey
did no a end he scheduled appoin men s. All pa ien s
signed an in o med consen o m which desc ibed he
sugges ed su gical p ocedu e, he o eseeable isks, any
po en ial complica ions, and he possibili y o abandon-
ing he s udy olun a ily. P eope a i e and ollow-up
da a we e enc yp ed wi h a s udy-speci ic nume ic se .
The s udy was app o ed by he San Agus ín Hospi al
Resea ch Commi ee.
Da a collec ion s a ed when he pa ien was included
in he su ge y wai ing lis ; a ha momen , a clinical and
adiog aphic p eope a i e assessmen was ca ied ou .
The su geon illed in he HSS ques ionnai e, whe eas
he pa ien comple ed he SF-12 o m. Any adiological
indings in he adiog aphic s udy we e eco ded. Two
p ojec ions we e examined: on al and la e al, wi h he
knee ully ex ended in weigh -bea ing posi ion. The
Ahlbäck g ade [3] o each case was ag eed upon by
he su geon who added he case o he s udy and he
adiologis who pe o med he adiog aphic assess-
men . Pa ien s who could no achie e ull ex ension
o he knee wi h es ing limb we e disca ded o his
s udy. Ou o he o al 1717 ques ionnai es ob ained,
1329 cases we e assessed; hey all had gone h ough
he ull p eope a i e clinical and adiog aphic assess-
men . In 577 cases, he men al (MCS) and physical
(PCS) componen sco es o he SF-12 o m we e also
ob ained. Mean age o he pa ien s was 70.4 yea s
(SD: 6.8, ange: 35 o 98) (Figu e 1), and 76.3% we e
women. Table 1 shows he s udy g oup in which he
pa ien s we e included, and Figu e 2 shows hei dis-
ibu ion h oughou he yea s o he s udy.
Da a we e collec ed using elec onic Case Repo Fo ms
(eCRF), and included Ahlbäck g ading, HSS, and o he
clinical and epidemiologic a iables. S a is ical analyses
we e pe o med wi h he SPSS 19 so wa e. Desc ip i e
s a is ics was ca ied ou o all a iables. The di e ences
in HSS sco es be ween he i e Ahlbäck g ades we e
analyzed wi h analysis o a iance (ANOVA) and he S u-
den 's - es when Ahlbäck g ading was g ouped (g ades I
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o IV e sus g ade V). The Mann–Whi ney non-
pa ame ic es was used o analyze he Ahlbäck g ade,
compa ing he i s 50 wi h he las 50 cases. The gene al
linea model was used o analyze he ela ionship be ween
Ahlbäck and HSS, aking gende as an in e ac ing a iable,
he HSS sco e as a dependen a iable, and Ahlbäck and
gende as ixed ac o s. S a is ical signi icance was
achie ed when he p alue was <0.05.
Resul s
Ahlbäck g ading [3] was dis ibu ed in o i e g oups
(Table 2). Mo e han 75% o he pa ien s we e classi ied
as ei he g ade II, III o IV, and 18.3% we e classi ied as
g ade I. Rega ding HSS, we ound an a e age sco e o
53.12 poin s (SD: 12.56): 925 pa ien s showed an HSS
sco e <60 poin s (69.6%); 286, be ween 60–69 (21.5%);
112, be ween 70–84 (8.4%); and 6, be ween 85–100
(0.5%) (Figu e 3). The e was a s a is ically signi ican di -
e ence in he HSS sco es depending on he Ahlbäck
g ade, wi h a clea endency owa ds dec ease in HSS
sco es as he Ahlbäck g ade inc eases (p<0.001,
ANOVA) (Table 3). Howe e , he HSS sco e di e ence
be ween Ahlbäck g ades I and V was o only 9.56 poin s
(Figu e 4).
No ela ionship was ound be ween he MCS p o ile o
SF-12 and he Ahlbäck g ade, bu a signi ican di e ence
(p=0.006, - es o Equali y o Means) was disco e ed
when analyzing he PCS p o ile di e en ia ing g ades I-IV
(558 pa ien s) and g ade V (19 pa ien s). While s udying
he ela ionship be ween Ahlbäck g ade and HSS sco es
aking in o accoun he gende o he pa ien s, we ound
ha ou comes di e ed depending on gende (p=0.042),
especially in Ahlbäck g ade III: men sco ed 55.2 poin s
and women, 50.9 (mean alues) (Figu e 5).
Ahlbäck g ade dis ibu ion was compa ed be ween he
i s 50 cases (en e ed in o he s udy be ween 1994 and
1996) and he las 50 cases (2009 and 2010). As Figu e 6
shows, he e is a di e ence in dis ibu ion acco ding o
he Ahlbäck g ade: hose pa ien s who en e ed he s udy
in he la e yea s had knees wi h lowe Ahlbäck g ades
(P=0.007, U Mann–Whi ney). Simila ly, he e we e di -
e ences be ween he mean ages o he pa ien s included
a he beginning o he se ies (68.43; SD: 6.321; ange:
52–81) and hose en e ed a he end (70.29; SD: 5.567;
ange: 59–80) (p=0.038). Analyzing bo h se s o da a
allowed us o deduc ha pa ien s unde going TKA su -
ge y in he las yea s we e olde and hei knees exhib-
i ed lesse deg ees o adiog aphic in ol emen .
Discussion
I can be s a ed ha he adiog aphic classi ica ion o
knee a h i is is based ei he on he deg ee o join space
na owing, as wi h he Ahlbäck g ading [3], o on he
Figu e 1 Age dis ibu ion by gende .
Table 1 G oups and numbe o TKAs
N%
Du acon 70 5.3
In e ax 751 56.5
Sco pio 426 32.1
T ia hlon 82 6.2
To al 1329 100.0
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p esence o os eophy es, such as he classi ica ion p o-
posed by Kellg en and Law ence [8]. Some au ho s de-
end he la e [9], a guing ha ma ginal os eophy es a e
he mos sensi i e adiog aphic ea u e o he de ec ion
o os eoa h i is, mo e han join space na owing, sub-
chond al scle osis, and subchond al cys s. Bo h classi i-
ca ions show a good co ela ion [10] and he Ahlbäck
sys em seems easy o apply and sui able o he assess-
men o medial compa men a h i is o he knee, he
mos equen ly a ec ed compa men in knee a h i is;
hus, i appea s o be pa icula ly use ul o he o ho-
pedic ea men o knee diso de s [11].
Al hough he ela ionship be ween adiog aphic knee
OA and he need o TKA is no ye ully es ablished, se-
e e os eoa h i is and ange o mo ion es ic ion e en-
ually necessi a e su gical in e en ion. I should be
men ioned ha in ou s udy mo e han 18% o he
pa ien s in he wai ing lis o TKA had OA o he knee
g ade I acco ding o he Ahlbäck classi ica ion [3], and
in g ade I cases, he adiog aphic images we e close o
no mali y. On he o he hand, i we ake in o accoun
he HSS sco e a he s a o he s udy, 112 pa ien s
showed a sco e >70 poin s, which ansla es as a mild
clinical and unc ional in ol emen . Thus, he i s ind-
ing o ou s udy was he asce ainmen ha he e is a
g oup o pa ien s showing no ele an adiog aphic ind-
ings which a e included in o he wai ing lis o TKA
implan a ion. I is possible ha o he ac o s such as he
social en i onmen , a subop imal communica ion be-
ween he pa ien and he physician, he di icul y o
assessing pain o he lack o o he esolu i e he apeu ic
measu es may modi y he demand o TKA.
Figu e 2 Yea o inclusion by g oup.
Table 2 Ahlbäck g ade in he se ies
Ahlbäck g ading N%
I Na owing o he join space (wi h o wi hou subchond al scle osis) (*) 243 18.3
II Obli e a ion o he join space 358 26.9
III Bone de ec /loss <5 mm 416 31.3
IV Bone de ec /loss be ween 5 and 10 mm 241 18.1
V Bone de ec /loss >10 mm, o en wi h subluxa ion and a h i is o he o he
compa men
71 5.3
To al 1329 100.0
(*) Join space na owing is de ined by a space in e io o 3 mm o in e io o hal o he space in he o he compa men (o in he homologous compa men o
he o he knee).
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We ha e obse ed a good co ela ion be ween Ahlbäck
g ade [3] and he HSS: whene e he o me inc eases,
he HSS sco e dec eases. We ha en' ound in he li e a-
u e any publica ions which may suppo o con adic
his conco dance. The e a e se e al s udies ha do no
ind any ela ionship be ween knee pain and adio-
g aphic changes. La sson e al. [12] s a e i is di icul o
co ela e ch onic knee pain, he diagnosis o adio-
g aphic OA, and unc ional capaci y. In his a icle, he
p opo ion o pa ien s wi h knee pain ound o ha e
adiog aphic OA anged om 15–76%, whe eas in he
case o hose wi h adiog aphic knee OA he p opo ion
wi h pain anged om 15–81%. Conside able a ia ion
occu ed wi h x- ay iew, pain de ini ion, OA g ading
and demog aphic ac o s. Bedson and C o [13] men-
ion ha he esul s o knee x- ays should no be used in
isola ion when assessing indi idual pa ien s wi h knee
pain, and conclude ha knee pain is an imp ecise
ma ke o adiog aphic knee os eoa h i is, al hough he
mo e se e e he adiog aphic os eoa h i is, he mo e
likely he e a e o be accompanying symp oms.
The HSS scale we used does no assess only pain, bu
also unc ion and ange o mo ion. Al hough i canno
be desc ibed as a "quali y o li e scale", i does analyze
some ac i i ies (such as s ai climbing, he need o
assis i e walking de ices, e c.) which a e pa o daily
li e. On he o he hand, we ha e obse ed ha he e is
only a e y small di e ence in HSS sco e be ween
Ahlbäck g ades I and V (only 9.56 poin s). This would
suppo he idea ha he HSS scale does no disc imina e
adiologic in ol emen , meaning ha a sca ce numbe o
adiog aphic lesions, o small ones, may ne e heless al e
he clinical and unc ional s a us o he pa ien . The
Ame ican Knee Socie y Sco e (AKSS) has been alida ed
and is esponsi e and ep oducible. Howe e , i also su -
e s om high in e - and in aobse e a ia ion when he
Figu e 3 HSS sco e in o e all se ies.
Table 3 Ahlbäck g ade and HSS sco e
Ahlbäck
g ade
N Mean
HSS
SD S anda d
E o
Mean
95% con idence in e al o mean Min Max
Lowe limi Uppe limi
I 243 56.91 10.750 0.690 55.55 58.27 32 82
II 358 55.64 12.019 0.635 54.39 56.89 22 95
III 416 51.86 12.966 0.636 50.61 53.11 3 95
IV 241 49.44 12.699 0.818 47.83 51.05 18 94
V 71 47.35 12.322 1.462 44.44 50.27 12 73
To al 1329 53.12 12.596 0.346 52.44 53.80 3 95
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assessmen s a e pe o med by less expe ienced doc o s
and nu ses [14]. E en hough we could no ge he SF-12
ques ionnai es om all he pa ien s in ou se ies, we
obse ed ha he e was no ela ionship be ween he g ade
o adiog aphic in ol emen and he men al heal h
componen scale sco es o he SF-12. No did we ind
such a ela ionship wi h he physical componen scale, ex-
cep i we g ouped pa ien s wi h g ades I-IV e sus
pa ien s wi h g ade V acco ding o he Ahlbäck classi ica-
ion. By pe o ming his associa ion, we did ind a
Figu e 4 HSS sco e and Ahlbäck classi ica ion ela ionship.
Figu e 5 Rela ion be ween HSS sco e and Ahlbäck g ade by gende .
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s a is ically signi ican di e ence. Acco ding o hese ind-
ings, i seems ha he e is no ela ionship be ween adio-
g aphic classi ica ion and quali y o li e wi h he excep ion
o he physical appea ance o pa ien s wi h mo e ad anced
adiog aphic a h i is.
We ha e no ound di e ences in HSS sco es be ween
Ahlbäck g ades when aking in o conside a ion he age
o pa ien s. As o gende , di e ences we e only p esen
be ween men and women wi h g ade III. We did no
ound any explana ion o his inding. In he s udy by
Mu aki e al. [15] knee pain was s ongly associa ed wi h
join space na owing, especially in men, while women
ended o expe ience knee pain e en wi hou adio-
g aphic OA. The p e alence o knee pain was age-
dependen in women, bu no in men.
When compa ing he s a us o pa ien s who en e ed he
s udy in 1994 and in 2010, we obse ed ha nowadays
pa ien s a e added o he TKA wai ing lis wi h lesse Ahl-
bäck g ades and ha hei age has inc eased. The easons
behind hese changes may ha e o do wi h an ea lie indi-
ca ion o TKA bo h on he pa o he su geon and he
pa ien , since i is known his p ocedu e leads o posi i e
esul s. The g ea e mean age may be due o he highe
su i al a e o he pa ien s. In any case, bo h indings
would equi e a mo e speci ic analysis.
Ou s udy has some limi a ions. I s mul icen ic na u e
has he ad an age o p o iding an o e iew o he ac ual
clinical p ac ice in hospi als and o a he e ogeneous
g oup o su geons, al hough his may also become a dis-
ad an age, o i could al e he homogenei y o he
esul s and in oduce bias in he measu emen c i e ia.
E en hough all he pa icipa ing su geons we e amilia
wi h bo h he Ahlbäck classi ica ion [3] and he HSS
scale and used hem on a egula basis, he e is no way
o gua an eeing he da a ha e been p ope ly collec ed. In
ou se ies, he adiog aphic s udies we e ca ied ou
homogeneously wi h ull ex ension o he knee and es -
ing limb. E en hough some deg ee o lexion is ecom-
mended, since his is a mul icen ic s udy in ol ing
many su geons, ull ex ension seemed o be easie o e-
p oduce and s anda dize. Since all adiog aphs we e
aken in his posi ion, he o e all esul s should no be
comp omised no al e ed. I he s udy had been ocused
on knee OA p og ession, i would ha e been indispen-
sable o pe o m he adiog aphic s udy wi h he knee
sligh ly lexed [16].
Knee OA assessmen and g ading is a om sol ed.
We did ind a ela ionship be ween Ahlbäck g ades and
he p eope a i e clinical sco e. Ne e heless, he ange
o a iabili y o he HSS sco e be ween he di e en Ahl-
bäck g ades is small, a ac ha educes i s use ulness in
clinical p ac ice. Besides he scales analyzed in his
s udy, o he echniques a e needed o disc imina e he
a h i ic knee in ol emen aking in o accoun he
Figu e 6 Ahlbäck g ade o i s and las cases included.
He nández-Vaque o and Fe nández-Ca ei a BMC Musculoskele al Diso de s 2012, 13:194 Page 7 o 8
h p://www.biomedcen al.com/1471-2474/13/194
commonness o his p ocess and he socioeconomic
imb ica ions he apeu ic decisions ha e on hese
pa ien s.
Conclusions
We ound a ela ionship be ween he Ahlbäck classi ica-
ion scale and he p eope a i e clinical sco e, bu he
ange o a iabili y o he HSS sco e be ween he di e-
en Ahlbäck g ades is small. One i h o he pa ien s
who ecei e a TKA p esen a g ade I in he Ahlbäck
scale and o e 9.5% exhibi only a mild in ol emen in
he HSS clinical unc ional scale. Pa ien s added o he
su ge y wai ing lis o his ype o in e en ion in he
las yea s show a lesse adiog aphic in ol emen and
a e olde han hose pa ien s added 17 yea s ago.
Compe ing in e es s
The au ho s decla e ha hey ha e no compe ing in e es s.
Au ho s’con ibu ions
DHV concei ed o he s udy, pa icipa ed in i s design and helped o d a
he manusc ip . JMFC pa icipa ed in he design o he s udy, in he da a
collec ion p ocess and pe o med he s a is ical analysis. Bo h au ho s ead
and app o ed he inal manusc ip .
Au ho s’in o ma ion
Spanish G oups o Knee A h oplas y Spanish Hospi als ha pa icipa ed in
da a collec ion: Axa quía, Vélez-Málaga; Bell i ge, Ba celona; Cabueñes, Gijón;
Cen al Uni e si a io, O iedo; Cen o ICOT, Las Palmas; Clínico, Málaga;
Complejo Hospi ala io, Albace e; Complejo Hospi ala io, León; Cos a del Sol,
Ma bella; Dos de Mayo, Ba celona; Espí i u San o, San a Coloma; F ancisco de
Bo ja, Gandía; Gene al, Cas ellón; Gene al, Je ez de la F on e a; G ego io
Ma añón, Mad id; Hospi al Clínico, Ba celona; Hospi al de la P incesa, Mad id;
Hospi al de Mo il, Mo il; José T ue a, Ge ona; Juan G ande, Je ez de la
F on e a; La Paz, Mad id; La Za zuela, Mad id; Molle , Molle ; Mu ua de
Ta asa, Ba celona; Pa c Tauli, Ba celona; San Agus ín, A ilés; San Be nabé,
Ve ga; San Camil, Ba celona; Uni e si a io de Tene i e, Tene i e; Vi gen de la
Cin a, To osa.
Acknowledgemen
The company S yke Ibe ia con ibu ed o he acquisi ion and analysis o
da a.
Au ho de ails
1
School o Medicine, Uni e si y o O iedo, Julian Cla e ia, 6, 33006 O iedo,
As u ias, Spain.
2
Epidemiology Uni , Hospi al San Agus ín, He os s/n, 33400
A ilés, As u ias, Spain.
Recei ed: 28 Decembe 2011 Accep ed: 3 Oc obe 2012
Published: 9 Oc obe 2012
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doi:10.1186/1471-2474-13-194
Ci e his a icle as: He nández-Vaque o and Fe nández-Ca ei a:
Rela ionship be ween adiological g ading and clinical s a us in knee
os eoa h i is. a mul icen ic s udy. BMC Musculoskele al Diso de s 2012
13:194.
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