Relationship between spinal structural damage and sagittal balance in axial spondyloarthritis: Is the thoracic spine the starting point?

Objectives: To assess the relationship between spinal structural damage, sagittal balance parameters and spine curvatures in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA).

Material And Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the pelvic and sagittal balance parameters were obtained through EOS® (Biospace, Paris, France). Patients were divided into three groups according to the modified Stoke Ankylosing Spondylitis Spinal Score (mSASSS) tertiles (G1 ≤6, n = 36; G2: 6.

PELVIC INCIDENCE AND OSTEITIS PUBIS IN PROFESSIONAL SOCCER PLAYERS.

Introduction: Osteitis pubis is a common inflammatory disease of the pubic symphysis, defined as a chronic pain syndrome caused by repetitive microtrauma. Since adaptative changes are necessary in the pelvis to adjust the equilibrium of the myotendinous structures, the aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between pelvic incidence and osteitis pubis among professional soccer players.

Materials And Methods: An observational, cross-sectional study was performed with professional soccer players from five teams during pre-season.

Relationship of the sacral slope with early gait derangements in robust older women.

Background: Trunk pelvic dissociation is fundamental to the compensatory mechanism for muscle weakness during body bending. We carried out an early investigation of gait changes in a sample of community-dwelling women ≥60 years without gait complaints. The primary objective was to correlate spine and pelvic angles with performance tests and accelerometry parameters.

Painless and painful synovitis have similar ultrasound and clinical outcomes: one-year cohort study in longstanding rheumatoid arthritis women patients.

Objectives: We aimed to compare the painless synovitis evolution with painful synovitis, based on bone erosion by ultrasonography over a year in women with longstanding rheumatoid arthritis. Ultrasound inflammatory measurements and radiographic, functional and clinical findings were also compared between groups at the end of the same follow-up.

Methods: A prospective cohort study was rolled out, involving 60 women with RA, divided into two groups: painless and painful, with 30 patients in each group.

The development of the intercondylar notch in the pediatric population.

Background: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) repair is increasing in frequency in younger children. Recognition of the normal development of the intercondylar notch is important for successful ACL graft placement, allowing surgeons to better understand the anatomy and risk factors related to ACL tears and its reconstruction. The purpose of this study was to compile normative data on the intercondylar notch in the pediatric population with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), emphasizing the differences between males and females.

Is power Doppler ultrasound useful to evaluate temporomandibular joint inflammatory activity in juvenile idiopathic arthritis?

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of power Doppler ultrasound (US) in assessing the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) involvement in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) patients using contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as the reference standard.

Methods: We evaluated the US and MRI examinations of the TMJs from 92 JIA patients. These exams were done and scored for inflammatory activity on the same date.

Radiography, CT, and MRI of Hip and Lower Limb Disorders in Children and Adolescents.

Infants and children are vulnerable to congenital and developmental hip and lower extremity disorders. These disorders have diverse causes in pediatric patients, and owing to potential related complications that can lead to degenerative disease in adulthood, an accurate diagnosis is essential. A common disease is developmental dysplasia of the hip, which affects nearly 1% of newborns.

Radiologic Manifestations of Musculoskeletal Sarcoidosis.

Purpose Of Review: The purpose of this review article is to present the spectrum of abnormalities and multi-modality imaging evaluations in patients with musculoskeletal sarcoidosis.

Recent Findings: The articular manifestations of sarcoidosis are difficult to distinguish from those of the other inflammatory and degenerative arthropathies, and the muscular lesions in sarcoidosis are generally clinically silent and therefore often missed. Magnetic resonance imaging has shown these manifestations to be very common in active sarcoidosis, and should thus be included in the screening if musculoskeletal sarcoidosis is suspected.

Diagnostic Imaging of Inflammatory Myopathies: New Concepts and a Radiological Approach.

Purpose Of Review: The purpose of this review article is to highlight the current role of diagnostic imaging in the assessment of inflammatory myopathies.

Recent Findings: Recent research demonstrates that imaging plays an important role in evaluating patients with symptoms of an inflammatory myopathy. In general, MRI is the pivotal imaging modality for assessing inflammatory myopathies, revealing precise anatomic details because of changes in the signal intensity of the muscles.

The development of the anterior cruciate ligament in the paediatric population.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to retrospectively compile normative data on the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the paediatric population with magnetic resonance imaging, emphasizing the differences between men and women.

Methods: In this retrospective study, musculoskeletal radiologists evaluated length, area, coronal and sagittal inclination of the ACL and inclination of the intercondylar notch. A total of 253 MR examinations (130 males and 123 females between 6 and 18 years of age) were included.

Femoral Component Axial Rotation in the Gap-Balancing Approach to Total Knee Arthroplasty: Measurement by Computed Tomography.

Background: Rotational malalignment of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a potential cause for revision surgery; therefore, it is important to have valid criteria for evaluation of normal component rotational alignment. Because computed tomography (CT) is considered the most accurate method to assess the rotational alignment of prosthetic components, the objectives in this study were define the femoral component (FC) rotation by measuring the posterior condylar angle (PCA) and the condylar twist angle (CTA) in a patient population that underwent gap-balancing TKA; determine the reliability of the FC rotation by using these measurements; evaluate the inter-relationship between the PCA and CTA; and finally evaluate the frequency and agreement in identification of the medial epicondyle sulcus (MES).

Methods And Results: In this retrospective study, 2 radiologists examined 50 CT scans.

Sacroiliac Joint Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Asymptomatic Patients with Recurrent Acute Anterior Uveitis: A Proof-of-concept Study.

Objective: Our aim was to quantify bone marrow edema (BME) and/or structural lesions in the sacroiliac joints (SIJ) of patients with recurrent acute anterior uveitis (rAAU) with or without back pain, to evaluate the frequency of axial (axSpA) and peripheral spondyloarthritis (pSpA) and to establish which criterion for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) positivity best reflected the global assessment of SIJ MRI.

Methods: A total of 50 patients with rAAU without prior rheumatologic diagnosis were included in our cross-sectional study, and these patients were compared to 21 healthy volunteers. SIJ MRI scans were read by 2 rheumatologists according to the Spondyloarthritis Research Consortium of Canada (SPARCC/MORPHO) protocol.

A new musculoskeletal ultrasound scoring system (US10) of the hands and wrist joints for evaluation of early rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Objective: To propose a novel ultrasound scoring system for hand and wrist joints (US10) for evaluation of patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to correlate the US10 with clinical, laboratory and functional variables.

Methods: Forty-eight early RA patients underwent clinical and laboratory evaluations as well as blinded ultrasound (US) examinations at baseline, three, six and 12 months. The proposed US10 system involved the assessment of the wrist, second and third metacarpophalangeal and proximal interphalangeal joints.

Are temporomandibular joint signs and symptoms associated with magnetic resonance imaging findings in juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients? A longitudinal study.

The aims of this longitudinal study were to perform a comprehensive clinical evaluation of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and to investigate the association between the clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in the TMJs of patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Seventy-five patients with JIA participated in this study. All patients underwent a rheumatological examination performed by a paediatric rheumatologist, a TMJ examination performed by a single dentist and an MRI with contrast of the TMJs.

A sonographic technique to evaluate the anterior bundle of the ulnar collateral ligament of the elbow: imaging features and anatomic correlation.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to test a sonographic technique used to view the anterior bundle of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL), describe its sonographic characteristics in healthy volunteers, and verify these characteristics by determining interobserver variability and their correlations in cadavers.

Methods: Sonographic studies of the anterior bundle of the UCL were performed on 48 elbows of asymptomatic healthy volunteers. The participants were examined by 3 experts, who identified the insertion sites of the anterior bundle and subjectively evaluated its echogenicity and echo texture.

Melorheostosis of the thumb and trapezium bone.

Melorheostosis of the hand is rare. We report a 28-year-old woman with persistent pain associated with a slowly growing mass on the dorsum of the right thumb. The radiographs, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging were used to examine characteristic of melorheostosis involving the trapezium bone, first metacarpal, and proximal phalange.

Ultrasound characteristics of gouty tophi in the olecranon bursa and evaluation of their reproducibility.

Objectives: To describe the ultrasound characteristics of gouty tophi in the olecranon bursa and to evaluate their reproducibility.

Methods: A prospective study of the ultrasound features of 35 sites of tophi nodulations in the elbows of 31 men (mean 54.6 years).

Sclerotic metaphyseal lines in children and adolescents treated with alendronate.

Introduction: Bisphosphonates inhibit bone resorption by interfering with the action of osteoclasts. Among the adverse effects, sclerotic lines observed in the metaphysis of long bones have been described as the main imaging finding in pediatric patients.

Objective: To evaluate the frequency of radiographic changes caused by alendronate in children and adolescents with low bone density or calcinosis.

Ultrasound features of tophi in chronic tophaceous gout.

Objective: To describe the different and lesser-known ultrasound features of tophi in chronic tophaceous gout.

Methods: Ultrasound images of 138 affected areas were analyzed from 31 patients with gout, using high-quality broadband linear transducers (frequency range of 8-14 MHz). Tophi were classified relative to echogenicity, echotexture, contours, number and the presence or absence of hypoechoic halo.

Sonographic description and classification of tendinous involvement in relation to tophi in chronic tophaceous gout.

OBJECTIVE: To describe and classify the varied ultrasound features of tendinous involvement in relation to tophi in chronic tophaceous gout so that they are better recognised. METHODS: Ultrasound images of 138 affected areas from 31 patients with chronic tophaceous gout were analysed using high-quality broadband linear transducers. The relationship between tendon and tophi was classified, and the inter-observer agreement regarding classification was analysed.