Ultrasound IDs disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis

(HealthDay)—A 12-joint ultrasound (US) evaluation is relevant in determining disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis patients, according to a study published online Feb. 9 in the International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases.

Marcos Cerqueira, M.D., from the Hospital Conde de Bertiandos in Ponte de Lima, Portugal, and colleagues performed a 12-joint US assessment on the same day as a routine clinical assessment in 41 patients with rheumatoid arthritis on biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drug treatment.

The researchers found Grey-scale and Power Doppler >0 in 24 and 3 percent of the ankles, 21 and 17 percent of the wrists, 19 and 9 percent of the second metacarpophalangeal joints (MCP), 7 and 2 percent of the third MCP, 6 and 0 percent of the knees, and 5 and 0 percent of the elbows, respectively. Nineteen percent of the ankles had tenosynovitis of the tibialis posterior. A US score of 0 was seen in eight of the 15 patients with Disease Activity Score of 28 joints ≤2.6. Overall, 6.7 percent of joints had US evidence of synovitis but were not swollen and 2.5 percent were swollen with no US evidence of synovitis.

"A regular and standardized US assessment of RA patients is therefore warranted to complement clinical evaluation and better define disease activity," the authors write.