Radioisotope Synoviorthesis in the Control of Refractory Synovitis in Castilla-La Mancha. A 10-year Experience

Our hospital is the nuclear medicine referral hospital for radioisotopic synoviorthesis for all of Castilla-La Mancha.

Objective: To describe the experience in the performance of radioisotopic synoviorthesis for arthritis refractory to other treatments in our hospital.

Methodology: Observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study protocolised through the review of the database of radioisotopic synoviorthesis performed between 2007 and 2017. Previous clinical data were collected (age, sex, pathology, previous treatments, previous infiltration and affected joint), and progress at 6 months after administering the isotope. An Excel database was created for a frequency analysis with SPSS 21.

Results: 30 radiosynovitis interventions were performed. The most frequent pathologies in this order were: pigmented villonodular synovitis (40%), rheumatoid arthritis (23.3%), spondyloarthritis (13.3%), osteoarthritis (10%) and nonspecific arthritis (6.7%), followed by systemic lupus erythematosus and gout. After 6 months, 56.7% of the patients improved compared to 36.7% who remained the same. Likewise, none of them presented complications related to the procedure. Six point six percent of the patients were lost to follow-up.

Discussion and conclusions: In patients with episodes of recurrent arthritis with associated joint effusion in one or two joints, refractory to systemic treatments, to local infiltrations with corticosteroids and for patients for whom other treatments may be contraindicated, we must consider the possibility of performing an isotope radiosinoviortesis, as it is a simple, safe technique with a success rate of more than 50%.