Key clinical point : There is favorable agreement between ultrasound (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for detecting inflammatory changes in finger joints of patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Additionally, there is a favorable agreement between US, radiography and MRI for detecting destructive changes.
Major finding : The absolute agreement between US and MRI was in the range of good-to-very good for detecting synovitis (85%-96%), flexor tenosynovitis (93%-98%), and extensor paratenonitis (95%-98%). Agreement between US, MRI and radiography was also good-to-very good for detecting erosions (96%-98%) and bone proliferations (71%-93%).
Study details : The data come from a study of 100 consecutive PsA patients who underwent clinical assessment and concomitant radiographic, US and MRI evaluations of the metacarpophalangeal, proximal interphalangeal and distal interphalangeal joints of one hand.
Disclosures: The study was supported by an investigator-initiated research grant sponsored by Johnson and Johnson. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Polachek A et al. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2021 Mar 17. doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keab272 .