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Osteoarthritis — SCE Rheumatology MCQ

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EasyOsteoarthritis and soft tissue rheumatologyOsteoarthritisSCE Rheumatology

A 47-year-old woman has activity-related knee pain and brief stiffness after rest. Examination shows there is crepitus and bony enlargement without synovitis. Investigations show radiographs show joint-space narrowing and osteophytes. The admitting team asks which diagnosis best explains the whole presentation. What is the most likely diagnosis?

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Correct answer: B — Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is the best answer because the pattern described is most consistent with Osteoarthritis, including the distribution of symptoms and the targeted investigation results. Osteoporosis is a plausible distractor, but it does not account for the key discriminator in the stem. Primary Sjögren syndrome and Neonatal lupus risk would be more appropriate in a different clinical pattern or at another point in the pathway, while Rotator cuff tendinopathy is suboptimal for this presentation. Clinical pearl: in SCE-style questions, the decisive clue is usually the pattern across joints, extra-articular features and targeted immunology rather than a single antibody result.

Reference: NICE NG226; NICE CKS musculoskeletal topics