Figure 1.
Flow diagram for case inclusion and exclusion.
Of the 513 cases identified from the initial medical records search, 85 dogs were ultimately included in the survival analysis.
Figure 2.
Severity scoring of stifle radiographs for synovial effusion.
(A–C) Severity of synovial effusion was graded as 0 = normal (A), 1 = mild (B), or 2 = severe (C), using the medial-lateral radiographic view. Severity scoring was based on the magnitude of the soft tissue density within the stifle joint and the dimensions of the intra-patellar fat pad density in the cranial part of the joint. Grading was based on a previously published scale [15].
Figure 3.
Severity scoring of stifle radiographs for osteophytosis.
(A–D) Severity of osteophytosis was graded as 0 = normal (A), 1 = mild (B), 2 = moderate (C) or 3 = severe (D) respectively after evaluation of orthogonal views of the stifle. Severity scoring was based on the magnitude and severity of osteophyte formation around the joint margins, including the proximal and distal poles of the patella, the lateral and medial aspects of the trochlear ridges of the distal femur, and the lateral, medial, cranial, and caudal aspects of the proximal tibia, and the fabellae. Grading was based on a previously published scale [15].
Table 1.
Confounding factors for case exclusion.
Figure 4.
Relationship of osteoarthritic changes in the index and contralateral stifles.
(A) Bivariate histogram of radiographic synovial effusion grade in index and contralateral stifles. (B) Bivariate histogram of osteophytosis grade in index and contralateral stifles. Severity of osteophytosis (SR = 0.39, p<0.0005), but not synovial effusion (SR = 0.17, p = 0.13) in the index and contralateral stifles were correlated.
Table 2.
Relationship of radiographic synovial effusion in the index stifle to contralateral cranial cruciate ligament rupture at one and two years after surgery.
Table 3.
Relationship of radiographic synovial effusion in the contralateral stifle to contralateral cranial cruciate ligament rupture at one and two years after surgery.
Table 4.
Relationship of radiographic osteophytosis in the index stifle to contralateral cranial cruciate ligament rupture at one and two years after surgery.
Table 5.
Relationship of radiographic osteophytosis in the contralateral stifle to contralateral cranial cruciate ligament rupture at one and two years after surgery.
Figure 5.
Time to contralateral cranial cruciate ligament rupture stratified by severity of synovial effusion and osteoarthritis in the index stifle.
Kaplan-Meier plots for a population of 85 client-owned dogs. Time to contralateral cranial cruciate ligament rupture was not significantly influenced by severity of synovial effusion (A) or osteophytosis (B) in the index stifle.
Figure 6.
Time to contralateral cranial cruciate ligament rupture stratified by severity of synovial effusion or osteoarthritis in the contralateral stifle.
Kaplan-Meier plots for a population of 85 client-owned dogs. (A) Time to contralateral cranial cruciate ligament rupture was significantly decreased in dogs with Grade 2 radiographic synovial effusion of the contralateral stifle at diagnosis, when compared with the grades of 0 or 1 (p<0.001). (B) Time to contralateral cranial cruciate ligament rupture was significantly decreased in dogs with Grade 3 osteophytosis of the contralateral stifle at diagnosis, when compared with the grade 0 and grade 2 (p<0.05).