Definition for Rheumatoid Arthritis Erosions Imaged with High Resolution Peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography and Interreader Reliability for Detection and Measurement.

Objective: High-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) sensitively detects erosions in rheumatoid arthritis (RA); however, nonpathological cortical bone disruptions are potentially misclassified as erosive. Our objectives were to set and test a definition for pathologic cortical bone disruptions in RA and to standardize reference landmarks for measuring erosion size.

Methods: HR-pQCT images of metacarpophalangeal joints of RA and control subjects were used in an iterative process to achieve consensus on the definition and reference landmarks.