Objective: A systematic literature review was performed to document published magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) lesion definitions and scoring systems for enthesitis in spondyloarthritis (SpA).
Methods: PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched for original publications involving adult patients with SpA undergoing MRI of axial/peripheral joints. Selected articles were assessed for quality using a standardized assessment tool and metric indices.
Results: Considering the heterogeneous design, quality, and outcome measures of studies, statistical data pooling was considered inappropriate. A qualitative narrative of results was undertaken based on study designs.
Conclusion: Lack of a comprehensive, validated score warrants additional research to develop an MRI enthesitis scoring system. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42018090537.
Keywords: ENTHESOPATHY; INFLAMMATION; MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING; OMERACT; SPONDYLOARTHROPATHY.