Magnetic resonance imaging and musculoskeletal ultrasonography detect and characterize covert inflammatory arthropathy in systemic sclerosis patients with arthralgia

Abstract

This study demonstrates the presence of a persistent inflammatory, erosive, peripheral arthropathy, similar to that seen in RA, in SSc patients with arthralgia without overt inflammatory joint disease. While both MRI and MSUS are useful in characterizing synovial inflammation in SSc, MRI is clearly more sensitive than MSUS in this setting. Further studies to establish the clinical and radiological musculoskeletal outcomes over time in this group of patients are required in order to identify the appropriate management of arthralgia in SSc.