Reliability of haemophilia early arthropathy detection with ultrasound (HEAD-US) in children: a comparative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study

Background Ultrasound (US) has been proven to be reliable in the assessment of early haemophilic arthropathy in the adult haemophilic population, however few studies so far focused on the reliability of US specifically in the paediatric haemophilic population. We were interested if the changing appearance of the growing bone hinders the ultrasonographic evaluation of the pathologic processes caused by haemophilic arthropathy. The aim of the study was to assess the reliability of US for evaluation of haemophilic arthropathy in children in comparison to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Patients and methods The study included all children aged 6 years or more with severe haemophilia in the country (n = 10). We assessed their elbows, knees, and ankles bilaterally by US and compared the results to the MRI as the reference standard. Pearson correlation coefficient (r) was used to analyse correlation. Results The correlation with MRI for the US for the total score was excellent for all joints (r = 0.849 for the elbows, r = 1 for knees, r = 0.842 for ankles). The correlation of scores for specific joint components showed fair, moderate, or excellent correlation for all joint components in all joints. The correlation was the lowest for the evaluation of cartilage and bone in the ankles (r = 0.546 and r = 0.478) and bone in the elbows (r = 0.499). Conclusions Our study proved that US using the HEAD-US method performed by paediatric radiologists is a reliable tool for detection and quantification of haemophilic arthropathy in children in comparison to MRI.