MARS MRI assessment of fatty degeneration of the gluteal muscles in patients with THA: reliability and accuracy of commo

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SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE

MARS MRI assessment of fatty degeneration of the gluteal muscles in patients with THA: reliability and accuracy of commonly used classification systems Christian Klemt 1 & F. Joseph Simeone 1 & Christopher M. Melnic 1 & Venkatsaiakhil Tirumala 1 & Liang Xiong 1 & Young-Min Kwon 1 Received: 6 August 2020 / Revised: 4 September 2020 / Accepted: 10 September 2020 # ISS 2020

Abstract Introduction Fatty degeneration of the gluteal muscles on metal artefact reduction sequence (MARS) MRI has been shown to correlate with poor functional outcomes, particularly in patients with total hip arthroplasty (THA). Standardized, reliable classification systems that permit assessment of fatty gluteal infiltration are needed for clinical decision making. This study aimed to compare the reproducibility and accuracy of commonly used MRI classification systems for fatty gluteal atrophy in THA patients. Methods MARS magnetic resonance images of 82 patients with unilateral THA were analysed by three independent trained observers. The readers evaluated fatty degeneration of the gluteus minimus, gluteus medius, and gluteus maximus according to 3 widely used classification systems: Goutallier, Quartile, and Bal and Lowe. Interobserver and intraobserver repeatability were determined using the weighted Kappa test. Quantitative evaluation of the proportion of intramuscular fat based on MR signal intensities was obtained and represented the gold standard. Results Mean interobserver agreement for the Quartile classification system (0.93) was higher compared with Goutallier classification system (0.87) and the Bal and Lowe classification system (0.83; range 0.79–0.88; p = 0.04). Intraobserver repeatability was significantly higher for the Quartile classification system (weighted kappa 0.91, 0.89, 0.85) compared with the Bal and Lowe classification system (weighted kappa 0.83, 0.77, 0.75; p < 0.01) and Goutallier classification system (weighted kappa 0.83, 0.77, 0.75; p = 0.04). Agreement with the gold standard measurements was significantly higher in the Quartile classification system (0.88, 0.84, 0.81) compared with the Goutallier classification system (0.80, 0.77, 0.78; p = 0.02) and Bal and Lowe classification system (0.76, 0.74, 0.73; p < 0.01). Discussion This study directly compared three clinically used MRI classification systems for fatty gluteal muscle atrophy in THA patients. Our findings demonstrate that although all three classification systems demonstrate good reproducibility and accuracy, the Quartile classification system is superior to the others in terms of intraobserver reliability and accuracy to quantify fatty gluteal degeneration in THA patients. Keywords Total hip arthroplasty . Gluteal fatty degeneration . MARS MRI . Goutallier classification system . Quartile classification system . Bal and Lowe classification system

Introduction

* Young-Min Kwon [email protected] 1

Bioengineering Laboratory, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 55 Fruit Stree