ECHOGRAPHY POTENTIAL IN DIAGNOSTICS OF THE KNEE JOINT IMPAIRMENT IN THE EVENT OF THE JUVENILE ARTHRITIDES

The juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) is one of the most widely spread rheumatic diseases among children, which is characterized by the steady progressive run, rapidly leading to the disability. Among numerous JRA manifestations, one of the leading is the joint syndrome with children mostly suffering from the knee joint impairment. With JRA, the initial changes in the joints affect the joint tissues and articular cartilage, while the bone changes evolve at the late stages of the disease. As a result, the echography plays an important role in the early arthritides diagnostics if compared to the x ray study and computerized tomography. To identify the typical features of the knee joint impairment, 97 children with JRA and 16 children with the juvenile spondyl arthritis (JSA) underwent the high pitched linear transducer assisted echography. The overwhelming majority of patients showed the changes in the hyaline cartilage. The hyperechoic enlargements in the depth of the cartilage were typical of JRA, while the cartilage thinning was typical of JSA. About a half of the patients showed the effusion. Over a third of the patients showed the changes in the cortical layer of the articular bone surface.Key words: juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile spondyl arthritis, diagnostics, knee joint echography, children.