Can patient characteristics explain variance in ultrasound strain elastography measures of the quadratus femoris and patellar tendons?

Dickson, Diane M.; Smith, Stephanie L.; Hendry, Gordon J.

Abstract

Objectives To explore the associations between participant characteristics and magnitudes of difference in paired elastography measures of knee tendon from different ultrasound systems, and to compare strain elastography pattern description. Materials and Methods Quadriceps and patellar tendons of 20 healthy volunteers (40 tendons) were examined by an experienced operator employing two ultrasound systems (GE S8 and Esaote MyLab 70XVG). Pearson/Spearman correlations explored the influence of participant characteristics (BMI, body fat %, leg circumference, activity level) on the magnitude of differences between measures. Paired-sample t test or Wilcoxon signed rank test were performed to compare repeated measures of individual ultrasound systems. Results The quadriceps tendon was characteristically stiffer than the patellar tendon. Participant characteristics were associated with within machine differences of the distal quadriceps tendon (BMI; r = 0.49, p = 0.028–0.03 and body fat %; r = 0.43, p = 0.05–0.056) ER measures. Conclusions Anthropometric and body composition parameters were associated with within machine differences for elasticity measures, where high BMI and body fat % contribute to paired measurement variance at the distal quadriceps tendon. Strain elastography protocols should be standardised, repeated ER measures performed using the same US system and patient characteristics considered for future clinical applications.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 22, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Jan 15, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021-01
• Deposit Date: Jan 18, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 16, 2022
• Journal: The Knee
• Print ISSN: 0968-0160
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 28
• Pages: 282-293
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.knee.2020.12.011
• Keywords: Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5234319
• Publisher URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0968016020304075
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: Can patient characteristics explain variance in ultrasound strain elastography measures of the quadratus femoris and patellar tendons?; Journal Title: The Knee; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.knee.2020.12.011; Content Type: article; Copyright: Crown Copyright © 2021 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.