Objective: To determine the value of musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) in evaluating the pathological features and inflammatory lesions of rheumatoid finger arthritis.
Study design: A comparative study.
Place and duration of study: Ningbo No. 6 Hospital, China, from September 2017 to February 2020.
Methodology: Eighty patients with rheumatoid finger arthritis (570 finger joints) were examined by MSUS and MRI. Detection rates of the two methods for diagnosing the pathological features of rheumatoid arthritis, levels of the serum markers rheumatoid factor (RF), etc, were compared.
Results: Detection rate of joint effusion by MSUS was higher than MRI (p <0.001). Spearman's correlation analysis showed that synovial blood flow signal grade was positively correlated with serum RF, anti-CCP, ESR, CRP, IL-6, and IL-33 levels (r = 0.853, p <0.001; r = 0.864, p <0.001; r = 0.866, p <0.001; r = 0.846, p <0.001; r = 0.881, p <0.001; and r = 0.873, p <0.001, respectively). Resistive index value of intra-synovial artery in active patients was lower than in define inactive patients (p <0.001).
Conclusion: Compared to MRI, MSUS has a higher detection rate of joint effusion in RA patients. In the MSUS examination, synovial blood flow signal is positively correlated with RF, Anti-CCP, ESR, CRP, IL-6, and IL-33, and the resistive index of intra-synovial artery is closely related to disease activity. Key Words: Musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS), Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Synovial hyperplasia, Synovial blood flow signal, Serum markers.