Ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging and radiography of the finger joints in psoriatic arthritis patients

A novel nomogram to predict psoriatic arthritis in patients with plaque psoriasis

OBJECTIVE

To construct a predictive model for Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) based on clinical and ultrasonic characteristics in patients with plaque psoriasis (PsP).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Demographic, clinical, and ultrasound data were collected from patients with PsP and PsA between May 2019 and December 2022.

RESULTS

A total of 212 patients with PsP and 123 with PsA in the training cohort, whereas the validation cohort comprised 91 patients with PsP and 49 with PsA. The multivariate logistic regression identified nail psoriasis (odds ratio [OR] 1.88, 95% CI: 1.07-3.29), synovitis (OR 18.23, 95% CI: 4.04-82.33), enthesitis (OR 3.71, 95% CI: 1.05-13.14), and bone erosion (OR 11.39, 95% CI: 3.05-42.63) as effective predictors for PsA. The area under the curve was 0.750 (95% CI, 0.691-0.806) and 0.804 (95% CI, 0.723-0.886) for the training and validation cohorts, respectively. The Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test showed good consistency for both the training cohort (p  =  0.970) and the validation cohort (p  =  0.967). Calibration curves also indicated good calibration for both cohorts. The DCA revealed that the predictive model had good clinical utility.

CONCLUSIONS

We have developed a quantitative, intuitive, and convenient predictive model based on nail psoriasis, synovitis, enthesitis, and bone erosion to assess the risk of PsA in patients with plaque psoriasis.

Ultrasonographic Insights into Peripheral Psoriatic Arthritis: Updates in Diagnosis and Monitoring

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory arthritis associated with psoriasis, characterized by heterogeneous clinical manifestations and variable disease progression. Ultrasonography has emerged as a valuable tool in the diagnosis and monitoring of PsA, providing real-time visualization of joint and soft tissue abnormalities. This review highlights recent advancements in ultrasonographic techniques for the assessment of PsA, including the identification of typical features, the role of power Doppler imaging in detecting active inflammation, and the potential of ultrasound for guiding treatment decisions. Additionally, we discuss the utility of ultrasound in assessing treatment response and monitoring disease progression in patients with PsA, with a focus on novel imaging modalities. By elucidating the evolving role of ultrasonography in PsA management, this article aims to enhance clinicians' understanding of its utility in facilitating early diagnosis, optimizing treatment strategies, and improving patient outcomes.

High prevalence of radiographic erosions in early, untreated PsA: results from the SpARRO cohort

AIMS

To investigate the prevalence and distribution of bone erosions in an early psoriatic arthritis (PsA) population using conventional radiography (CR) and to explore the agreement between CR and ultrasound (US) detected bone erosions.

METHODS

Newly diagnosed, treatment naïve PsA patients fulfilling the ClASsification for Psoriatic Arthritis (CASPAR) classification criteria of ≤5 years symptom duration were recruited as part of the Leeds Spondyloarthropathy Register for Research and Observation and underwent CR and US examination of hands and feet.

RESULTS

Overall, 4655 hand and feet joints were assessed in 122 patients. CR erosions were detected in 24.6% (n=30) with lowest prevalence seen below 8 months of symptoms (17.5% vs 24.3%>24 months). The number of erosions was higher on CR (1.55% (63/4,655); US 1.04% (34/3,270)), with 5th metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint being the most affected site in both CR (5.21% (11/211)) and US (7.14% (15/210)). Erosions in CR were more evenly distributed compared with US where three-quarters of the total number of bone erosions were detected in wrists, second metacarpophalangeal (MCP) and fifth MTP joints. Most joints had almost perfect prevalence-adjusted bias-adjusted kappa values ranging from 0.91 to 1.

CONCLUSIONS

Erosions were seen in a quarter of patients with newly diagnosed, untreated PsA with a declining trend around the 8-month symptom duration cut-off. High levels of agreement between CR and US were seen with CR detecting more erosions. A focused US assessment of the wrist, second MCP and fifth MTP joints may be useful to detect bone erosions in early PsA.

Utility of Musculoskeletal Ultrasound in Psoriatic Arthritis

PURPOSE

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes a variety of musculoskeletal abnormalities. Musculoskeletal ultrasound in PsA is becoming increasingly popular, both in clinical practice and research. This narrative reviews recent literature on the utility of ultrasound in PsA.

METHODS

A search of PubMed was used to identify publications written in English, with titles containing the term psoriatic arthritis and either ultrasound, ultrasonography, or sonographic. A total of 178 publications were identified; those that were not relevant (n = 59), were not original research (n = 45), or that had small (<30) sample sizes (n = 34) were excluded, leaving 40 studies for review of the use of ultrasound in various aspects of PsA. Publications with similar findings were grouped into seven domains: (1) the use of ultrasound findings compared to clinical assessment; (2) the use of ultrasound in the assessment of enthesitis; (3) the use of ultrasound in the assessment of nails; (4) the use of ultrasound as a screening tool in patients with psoriasis at risk for PsA; (5) the use of ultrasound in differentiating PsA from other similar conditions; (6) the use of ultrasound as a measure of disease activity; and (7) the use of ultrasound compared to MRI.

FINDINGS

In recent studies, ultrasound measures of inflammation tended to agree with objective clinical findings of disease, such as swollen joint counts, while being less influenced by subjective measures, such as pain. Ultrasound has utility in the assessment of enthesitis and psoriatic nail disease in PsA, and as an overall measure of disease activity. Ultrasound-based outcomes measures have been used in observational studies and in clinical trials involving PsA, and may have utility as a measure of treatment response. The findings from recent studies suggest that ultrasound may have utility in improving the accuracy and precision of screening programs designed to identify subclinical PsA in cohorts of patients with psoriasis; however, cost-efficacy remains to be determined. Beyond screening, ultrasound may have utility in the diagnosis of PsA in patients with suspected inflammatory arthritis, and ultrasound measures of inflammation agree with MRI measures of inflammation, meaning that incorporating ultrasound into clinical practice might help to overcome the barriers associated with MRI.

IMPLICATIONS

As ultrasound technology continues to advance, and associated costs decrease, it is likely that ultrasound will become more integrated into the clinical journeys of patients with PsA.

The role of ultrasound in screening subclinical psoriatic arthritis in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis

OBJECTIVE

To identify patients in the subclinical psoriatic arthritis (Sub-PsA) phase by ultrasound (US) and provide a solution to screen them.

METHODS

A total of 490 participants with moderate-to-severe psoriasis were evaluated. Among them, 384 participants without arthritis symptoms were enrolled into the silent psoriasis group and 106 participants with arthritis symptoms, called prodromal/active PsA phase, were enrolled into the clinical PsA group. Another 80 non-psoriasis participants were enrolled into the control group. Each participant received clinical assessments and US examinations of 60 joints, 38 tendons, and 40 entheses. We compared the incidences of synovio-enthesitis, synovitis, tenosynovitis, erosion, and dactylitis detected on US among the three groups. Subsequently, on the basis of significant US findings, we distinguished Sub-PsA from psoriasis alone (PsO) in the silent psoriasis group and analyzed the clinical characteristics, mainly including basic clinical characteristics, body surface area (BSA), and Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score.

RESULTS

Only synovio-enthesitis significantly differed between the control group and the silent psoriasis group (1.3% vs. 16.1%, p < 0.001). The knee was the most commonly involved site of synovio-enthesitis (79.0%). Taking synovio-enthesitis as the standard, 16.1% of silent psoriasis participants and 12.7% of all psoriasis participants were in the Sub-PsA phase. Furthermore, there were no differences in BSA and PASI among the three phases of PsO, Sub-PsA, and prodromal/active PsA.

CONCLUSIONS

Since the psoriasis patients in Sub-PsA phase was as high as 12.7% in all patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis, US-detected synovio-enthesitis was recommended routinely for screening them regardless of arthritis symptoms, especially in the lower limbs.

KEY POINTS

• Synovio-enthesitis on ultrasound was significantly associated with subclinical psoriatic arthritis, especially in the lower limbs. • Routine ultrasound evaluation could help screen psoriasis patients in the subclinical psoriatic arthritis phase, which was as high as 12.7% in all psoriasis patients.

Controversies in rheumatology: Ultrasound for monitoring of RA - do we need it?

Clinical joint examination is the cornerstone for evaluation of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, since large discrepancies have been shown even between experienced rheumatologists in evaluation of joint inflammation, and tender joints may have limited value in reflecting inflammation, ultrasound has in the last decennials been introduced in the clinical assessments of RA patients. Ultrasound has high accordance with other imaging modalities and enables detection of clinically difficult pathologies and contributes to assessments of joints difficult to evaluate clinically. However, there is no general agreement on the optimal use of ultrasound in rheumatology and the prevalence of machines as well as the level of experience is highly different across the countries. In addition, standardized use of ultrasound in treat-to-target follow-up of RA patients was found not to have any added value. Thus, how to use ultrasound in monitoring of RA patients is open for debate. The present article will discuss the pros and cons for using ultrasound in the clinical setting.