The "Horse Saddle" Sign: A New Ultrasound Sign for Osteoarthritis

Abstract

Objective: To assess the sensitivity and specificity of the “horse saddle” sign in the diagnosis of osteoarthritis Methods: An exploratory clinical comparative cross-sectional study where an ultrasound of the hands and comparative radiographs in PA view were performed on patients with osteoarthritis, inflammatory arthritis and healthy patients seen in the Rheumatology clinic of the Vall de Hebron Hospital. Age, sex and time of evolution of the disease were collected as clinical variables. The MCP, PIP and DIP joints from the second to the fifth finger of both hands were viewed with grayscale in longitudinal and transverse plane of both the dorsal and palmar face, assessing for osteophytes, synovitis and the horse saddle sign. Results: A total of 38 patients with osteoarthritis, 20 patients with inflammatory arthritis (8 psoriatic, 9 RA, 1 LES, 1 PMR and 1 Sjogren) and 2 healthy patients were assessed. It was found that the horse saddle sign had a sensitivity of 66.7% and specificity of 86.4% in osteoarthritis showing a p-value of 0.052 by means of the chi-square test. 87% of patients with the horse saddle sign had osteoarthritis and only in 2 patients with RA and in the patient with LES. Conclusion: The horse saddle sign is an ultrasound sign with good sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of hand osteoarthritis comparable to other classic ultrasound signs such as osteophytes and synovitis.