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Knee osteoarthritis — SCE Rheumatology MCQ

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ModerateOsteoarthritis and Soft Tissue RheumatologyKnee osteoarthritisSCE Rheumatology

A 71-year-old woman has activity-related knee pain, varus alignment, crepitus and radiographic medial joint-space narrowing with osteophytes. What is the most likely diagnosis?

Educational content. Not a substitute for clinical judgement or local policy.

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Correct answer: C — Knee osteoarthritis

Knee osteoarthritis is the single best answer because mechanical knee pain with classic radiographic change suggests osteoarthritis. The stem is testing diagnostic synthesis, not isolated recall, so the relevant clinical pattern and risk context determine the answer. Rheumatoid arthritis is less suitable because it fits a different clinical pattern or a different treatment threshold; Systemic lupus erythematosus, Psoriatic arthritis and Gout do not address the key discriminator in this vignette. Clinical pearl: in SCE-style rheumatology questions, autoantibodies, imaging and synovial fluid findings should be interpreted with the whole phenotype.

Reference: NICE NG226; NICE CKS soft tissue rheumatology