DIAGNOSTIC VALUE OF SYNOVIAL BIOPSY IN A TUNISIAN INSTITUTION: ABOUT 43 CASES
*Dr. Faten Limaiem and Saadia Bouraoui
ABSTRACT
Introduction: histopathological study of synovial biopsy is one of the most valuable means for the diagnosis of joint diseases, as clinical diagnosis has its own limitations. Aim: to evaluate the reliability of the synovial biopsy in the etiological diagnosis of mono- and oligo-arthropathies. Methods: our retrospective study concerned 43 synovial biopsies collected at the department of pathology of the university hospital Mongi Slim La Marsa hospital over a three-year period (March 2015- March 2018). Results: the average age of our patients was 56.18 years with extremes ranging from 24 to 80 years old. In our series, synovial biopsies were performed exclusively in large joints. They interested in order of frequency the knee (79%), the hip (9%), the elbow (7%) and the ankle (5%). Histopathological examination classified synovial biopsies into septic arthritis (n=23), mechanical arthropathy (n=5), rheumatic synovitis (n=5), reactive synovitis (n =7), chondrocalcinosis (n=1) and metastatic adenocarcinoma of synovium (n=1). The definitive diagnosis was based on a set of arguments including clinical, biology, radiological examination, histology and evolution data. The pathological examination was consistent with the suspected clinical diagnosis in 90% of the cases. Conclusion: Synovial biopsy is an important and final tool for definitive diagnosis of joint disorders. Correlation with clinical, radiological, and serological findings helps to arrive at an accurate diagnosis.
Keywords: Synovial, biopsy, arthritis, synovitis, pathology.
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