Musculoskeletal ultrasound including definitions for ultrasonographic pathology.

TLDR

Ultrasound offers a patient‑friendly, rapid method to detect bone erosions, synovitis, tendon disease, and enthesopathy in rheumatoid arthritis, yet limited data exist on its validity, reproducibility, responsiveness, and standardized scanning protocols. The study aims to introduce consensus ultrasound definitions for the most common pathological lesions observed in inflammatory arthritis. The authors report the first OMERACT ultrasound special‑interest‑group study comparing ultrasound findings to the OMERACT filter criteria.

Abstract

Ultrasound (US) has great potential as an outcome in rheumatoid arthritis trials for detecting bone erosions, synovitis, tendon disease, and enthesopathy. It has a number of distinct advantages over magnetic resonance imaging, including good patient tolerability and ability to scan multiple joints in a short period of time. However, there are scarce data regarding its validity, reproducibility, and responsiveness to change, making interpretation and comparison of studies difficult. In particular, there are limited data describing standardized scanning methodology and standardized definitions of US pathologies. This article presents the first report from the OMERACT ultrasound special interest group, which has compared US against the criteria of the OMERACT filter. Also proposed for the first time are consensus US definitions for common pathological lesions seen in patients with inflammatory arthritis.