Point-of-Care Ultrasound Shows Promise for Osgood-Schlatter Diagnosis

Osgood-Schlatter disease is a developmental disorder that causes musculoskeletal problems and is rare in the normal population. However, the condition is more common in teenagers who play sports, affecting an estimated 3-5% percent of this population; it causes painful inflammation below the knee in adolescents and can lead to permanent soft tissue damage. The condition is often diagnosed by MRI, which is both costly and impractical for screening purposes.

Dr. Ralf Doyscher, from the Department of Sports Medicine at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, recently participated in a study of elite youth soccer players, which included looking at point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) as an alternative approach to diagnosing Osgood-Schlatter disease.

“The sports medicine team at the Charité was asked to perform a general health check on elite young soccer players enrolled in a regional support program," explains Dr. Doyscher, "and we took the opportunity to simultaneously study the potential of POCUS as a screening tool to identify players who might be suffering from Osgood-Schlatter.”

“We screened almost 400 players between 12 and 14 years old, and identified six players with pathologies indicative of Osgood-Schlatter, all of which were later confirmed by MRI. Although this is only an initial study, the findings indicate that ultrasound is well suited to screening for Osgood-Schlatter disease."

"POC ultrasound systems, such as the FUJIFILM Sonosite Edge® system used for this study, offer a convenient and cost-effective alternative to MRI for screening activities, and I believe this approach could benefit young players in a number of other running sports.”