Popliteal Cysts: A Systematic Review of Nonoperative and Operative Treatment.

BACKGROUND: Treatment methods for popliteal cysts have varied over the past several decades and have posed challenges to providers as recurrences were frequent. With greater understanding of relevant anatomy, both operative and nonoperative treatment methods have evolved to appropriately target relevant pathology and improve outcomes. The purposes of this review were to outline the evolution of treatment methods and to qualitatively summarize clinical outcomes. METHODS: We performed a systematic review on treatments for popliteal cysts to include publications from 1970 to 2019. Other inclusion criteria consisted of studies with ≥10 patients enrolled, studies with a patient age of ≥16 years, studies with an adequate description of the treatment technique, and studies with a Level of Evidence of IV or higher. The review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, and literature quality was assessed using a modified Coleman methodology score. RESULTS: Thirty studies met inclusion criteria in this review. Nine studies discussed nonoperative treatment, and 21 studies discussed operative treatment. Eight of the 9 nonoperative treatment studies utilized corticosteroid injections. The most recent studies have advocated for ultrasound-guided intracystic injection with possible cyst fenestration. Most operative studies utilized an arthroscopic approach to enlarge the communication with the joint space. However, alternative treatment techniques are still utilized. CONCLUSIONS: The current literature on the treatment of popliteal cysts indicates that intracystic corticosteroid injection with cyst fenestration is an effective nonoperative treatment method. Arthroscopic surgical procedures with enlargement of the communication have been most widely studied, with positive results; however, further studies are needed to confirm superiority over other treatment methods. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Pyogenic Baker cyst in a patient with psoriatic arthritis during etanercept therapy.

Patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) are at increased risk of infection due to disease course or treatment-related immunodeficiency. We describe a patient with a 10-year history of PsA, with arthritis of the right knee and pain and edema in the right calf, treated with the TNFa inhibitor etanercept for 6 months. Ultrasound showed accumulation of hypoechoic fluid, which was aspirated and was positive for staphylococcus and aspergillus. The patient recovered after surgical drainage and four weeks of antibiotic and antifungal therapy.

[Giant Baker's cyst treated with intralessional methotrexate]. / Quiste de Baker gigante tratado con metrotrexato intralesional.

INTRODUCTION: Synovial cyst is composed by a fibrous wall; lining by a thin layer of synovial cells containing synovial fluid, the prototype of these, in the knee is the Baker's cyst, which is located abnormally in the gastrocnemius semimembranous bursa. Baker's cyst prevalence ranges from 5 - 38%. Clinical diagnosis is supported by the presence of increased volume of soft tissues located in the popliteal region. CLINICAL CASE: A 74 year-old woman with longstanding active rheumatoid arthritis who developed a large, recurrent Baker's cyst. The Baker's cyst had two flare-ups of pain and soft tissue swelling which eventually limited knee movements; was treated with needle aspiration guided by ultrasound and synovectomy with methotrexate twice. At 18-months follow-up, the patient remains without evidence of recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Local infiltration of methotrexate represents an alternative therapy for those refractory Baker's cyst with partial response to conventional treatment, where the surgical procedure carries a high risk.

Longitudinal ultrasound and clinical follow-up of Baker's cysts injection with steroids in knee osteoarthritis.

This study was conducted to assess ultrasound (US) and clinical changes of Baker's cyst (BC) of patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) after steroid injection. Patients with knee OA complicated with symptomatic BC (40) were treated with US-guided direct (posterior) aspiration. The injection of 40 mg triamcynolone acetonide was in 20 patients direct into the BC and in other 20 subjects intra-articular (anterior). BC diameters (longitudinal, transverse, and thickness) were measured and followed up with US at baseline, 2, 4, and 8 weeks after injection. Swelling, pain, and range motion were scored at clinical examination with Rauschning and Lindgren classification (RLC, since 0 normal to 3 maximal signs). All US measures of BC and RLC significantly decreased after treatment, in comparison to baseline (p < 0.001) and during the follow-up, did not change through the time (no significant difference between 2, 4, and 8 weeks). At 4 and 8 weeks, diameters measured at US are lower when BC is directly infiltrated in comparison to intra-articular injection (p < 0.01). US steroid direct injection reduces US measures and clinics of BC in knee OA, in particular, when steroid is directly infiltrated into BC.

[Recurrent Baker's cyst]. / Rezidivierende symptomatische Bakerzyste.

A 50-year old female patient with unilateral knee pain demonstrated a recurrent ultrasound-proven popliteal cyst (Baker's cyst). Even though a proper differential diagnosis was done, the MRT of the knee showed in a secondary step a tibial fissure as the cause of the treatment-refractory knee pain and Baker's cyst. A fracture of the tibia is a rare cause for a symptomatic Baker's cysts. Mechanical, degenerative or inflamed diseases of the joint are more frequent associated with a Baker's cyst.

Ultrasonographic assessment of Baker's cysts after intra-articular corticosteroid injection in knee osteoarthritis.

PURPOSE: To assess sonographic changes in Baker's cysts (BCs) of patients with knee osteoarthritis after a single intra-articular corticosteroid injection. METHODS: Thirty patients with knee osteoarthritis complicated with a symptomatic BC received a single intra-articular injection of 40 mg triamcinolone acetonide. Knee pain, swelling, and range of motion were evaluated. BC area and thickness of the cyst wall were measured with sonography before and 4 weeks after local treatment. RESULTS: A significant improvement in knee pain, swelling, and range of motion after corticosteroid injection was accompanied by a decrease in size of the BCs as well as in thickness of the cyst wall as measured by sonography. Moreover, the reduction of BC area on sagittal scans after treatment was significantly correlated with the improvement in range of motion. CONCLUSIONS: In this series of osteoarthritis patients, injection of corticosteroids inside the knee joint accounted for a reduction in BC dimensions as well as cyst wall thickness. Sonography can be used not only for the diagnosis of BCs but also to monitor response to therapy.

Quiste de Baker simulando una tromboflebitis aguda y trombosis venosa profunda en urgencias / Baker's cyst presenting as an acute thrombophlebitis and deep venous thrombosis at Emergency Department

Introducción: El quiste de Baker (QB) o quiste poplíteo es una masa de tejido blando en la cara posterior de la rodilla que se llena de un líquido gelatinoso; a veces puede simular un síndrome equiparable a una tromboflebitis aguda (TFA) y trombosis venosa profunda (TVP).Objetivos: Conocer la incidencia del QB en el diagnóstico diferencial de la TFA y TVP. Analizar las distintas estrategias de tratamiento. Método: Revisamos los 19 pacientes que fueron diagnosticados de QB, en el periodo de 3 años, en nuestra unidad de urgencias y en los que el diagnóstico inicial fue TFA o TVP. Resultados: Se diagnosticaron 19 QB mediante eco doppler. El 80 por ciento (15 pacientes) eran varones con edad media de 59 años (DT 6,3). Trece pacientes (68 por ciento) referían episodios diagnosticados de flebitis profundas tratadas en Atención Primaria. Los seis restantes (32 por ciento) no presentaban antecedentes de patología vascular en miembros inferiores. Todos presentaban signos de TFA y TVP con maniobra de Homans positiva. Los pulsos distales eran normales en 12 (64 por ciento) y en 7 (36 por ciento) levemente disminuidos. El Dímero D fue positivo en 4 casos (21 por ciento). La eco doppler mostró en 8 casos (42 por ciento) rotura del QB, en 5 (26 por ciento) compresión de la vena safena por el QB y en 6 (32 por ciento) inflamación del QB. El 90 por ciento de los pacientes fue tratado con antiinflamatorios no esteroideos (AINEs) y reposo y el 10 por ciento fue intervenido quirúrgicamente (2 casos de rotura de QB). Los pacientes con pulsos levemente disminuidos correspondían a los casos de rotura de QB. Conclusiones: El QB puede simular una TFA y TVP (rotura QB o compresión de la vena safena interna). Es más frecuente en varones de unos 59 años y con antecedentes sugestivos de flebitis de repetición. El diagnóstico clínico es muy complicado, necesitando una eco doppler para el diagnóstico de certeza. El tratamiento se realiza mediante AINEs habituales y reposo (AU)

Haemorrhage into a popliteal cyst: an unusual complication of haemophilia A.

A 7(1/2)-year-old boy with severe haemophilia A had increasing discomfort and pain in his left knee after sledding on ice and landing on his knees. Left knee pain persisted for days despite recombinant factor VIII replacement. Imaging studies showed that by day 10 a popliteal cyst had ruptured, with diffusion of blood into the calf muscles. This case illustrates another possible bleeding complication in patients with a bleeding disorder and a popliteal cyst.

A 47-year-old woman with a swollen leg.

This case illustrates the importance of expanding the differential diagnosis beyond ruling out a DVT in a patient presenting with calf swelling. A good history and examination and a compulsive search for an etiology are necessary in the pursuit of the correct diagnosis. In this patient, only after identifying the popliteal cyst and recognizing that it represented an inflammatory synovitis could the cause be determined and the proper treatment instituted.

Candida arthritis in adult patients who are not intravenous drug addicts: report of three cases and review of the literature.

Candida species are an uncommon cause of infectious arthritis, although the frequency has increased during recent years. Three cases of septic arthritis caused by Candida species are reported, and the literature is reviewed. The first patient developed a popliteal cyst infected by Candida albicans after multiple intravenous antibiotic treatments. The second patient had acute myelogenous leukemia and experienced knee arthritis after chemotherapy, and the third suffered oligoarthritis after a second heart transplantation. All patients received treatment with a standard dose of intravenous amphotericin B. Responses were achieved only in the first two cases; the third patient died despite therapy. Thirty-six previously reported Candida arthritis cases are reviewed, and epidemiologic, diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic features are analyzed. Cases are divided into two categories: direct inoculation of fungus and hematogenously disseminated disease; these two categories are compared in terms of sex, age, pathogen species, treatment, and survival. Arthritis induced through direct inoculation of fungus is seen in older individuals, is more frequently produced by species other than C albicans (Candida parapsilosis especially), and has a better prognosis than arthritis caused by disseminated candidiasis. Arthritis can be resolved even in the persistence of the systemic disease. It is believed that the first case of Baker's cyst infected by C albicans and the first case of Candida arthritis in a heart transplant patient are reported here.

Anterolateral rupture of popliteal cysts in rheumatoid arthritis.

Popliteal cysts occur commonly in both normal and arthritic knees. Most cysts are formed by distension of the medially situated semimembranosus bursa. Popliteus bursa distension occurs uncommonly as a lateral popliteal cyst. Two cases of rupture of lateral cysts which produced symptoms related to the anterolateral lower leg are reported. The difficulty of diagnosing the condition because of this unusual site of inflammation and subsequent management problems are discussed.