Objective: This study compared grayscale and Power Doppler ultrasonography with clinical evaluation of inflammatory activity in the wrists and fingers of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.
Methods: The research involved 75 RA patients. The clinical information, CRP level, and ESR of each patient were collected. On the basis of clinical examination, rheumatologists independently assessed the presence of joint pain and edema in each patient's 28 wrist and finger joints and reached a consensus. All affected joints were assigned a subjective score between 1 and 3. The TJC, the SJC, and SJI for each patient were recorded. Radiologists performed US wrist and finger joint assessments on all power Doppler patients. In 28 joints, US joint effusion, synovitis, and power Doppler signal were scored from 1 to 3. Recorded were the US joint count and joint index for effusion, synovitis, and power Doppler signal. Comparing clinical evaluation outcomes with ultrasonographic findings.
Results: US showed considerably more joints with synovitis and effusion than clinical examination (P-value |
