The study was carried out on 30 boys with hemophilic arthropathy (group I) and 20 healthy boys as control (group II). All hemophiliacs patients were scored for FISH and radiological changes (Pettersson’s score). Factor activity level was measured in group I while COMP was measured in both groups.
The patients’ age ranged from 6 to 16 years (mean 10.6 ± 2.7 years). The knee was the most commonly affected joint (83.3%). Fifteen patients (50%) had severe hemophilia, 7 had moderate and 8 had mild hemophilia. Mean serum levels of COMP in hemophilic patients (529 ± 288.1 ng/ml) were significantly higher than in control (285 ± 63.2 ng/ml) (p = 0.014). The COMP level was significantly higher in patients with severe hemophilia compared to those with moderate or mild disease (p < 0.001). The serum COMP significantly correlated with joint space narrowing (r = 0.64, p < 0.001) and with the total Pettersson score (r = 0.42, p = 0.02) and negatively with the FISH score (r = −0.44, p = 0.016).
Serum COMP level is indicative of the amount of joint damage in patients with hemophilic arthropathy. The combined scoring of functional independence and Pettersson score in addition to serum levels of COMP give a good overview of the degree of hemophilic arthropathy.