Radiological Abnormalities and Clinical Characteristics for Children with Kashin-Beck Disease in Tibet

Abstract

A radiological study and clinical characteristics in Kashin-Beck Disease (KBD) was undertaken on the appendicular skeleton in 213 patients with KBD in Tibet , in 134 healthy subjects living in an endemic area and in 61 healthy subjects living in a non-endemic area. Eight clinical symptoms and radiological signs of different joints in patients with Kashin-Beck disease (KBD) were studied in all cases. Arthritic pain in ankles and knee joints was the most common symptom in the early and advanced KBD children groups (1.6%,18.9%) and was significantly higher than in the in the other groups (P<0.05). Morning stiffness was observed in the all groups. Abnormal radiological changes of the finger phalanges were present in a high percentage of patients (72.9%, 86.7%) in the KBD group but that this did not occur in the healthy group. It is suggested that finger phalanges of X-rays and some clinical symptoms might be a specific criterion for diagnosing KBD.