Key clinical point: Ultrasound-detected residual inflammation in peripheral articular structures may be present even in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) who have achieved stable minimal disease activity (MDA), with residual inflammation being more prevalent in patients with shorter duration of MDA.
Major finding: Despite stable MDA, 54.2% of patients had ≥1 positive Power Doppler (PD) signal in examined tissues, with 19.4% and 23.6% of patients showing ≥1 joint and enthesis with a positive PD signal, respectively. A higher proportion of patients with ≤12 vs >12 months of sustained MDA had ≥1 ultrasound detected PD lesion (55% vs 41%; P = .024).
Study details: This cross-sectional study included 72 patients with PsA who were on biologic or conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs for ≥12 months and in continuous MDA for ≥6 months.
Disclosures: This study did not declare the source of funding. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Macchioni P et al. Residual inflammation in psoriatic arthritis patients in stable minimal disease activity. Front Med. 2022;9:1096547 (Dec 20). Doi: 10.3389/fmed.2022.1096547