Assessing forefoot bursitis in rheumatoid arthritis: a comprehensive approach with ultrasound, MRI, and baropodometry.

Aim: In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), forefoot bursitis is prevalent, with limited studies comparing ultrasonography (US) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). This study aims to evaluate these bursae, providing a comparative analysis of US and MRI, and explore associations with demographic, disease-related factors, pain, clinical examination, and baropodometryin RA patients.

Material And Methods: Participants with RA were recruited from the day-hospital clinic.

Do ankle, hindfoot, and heel ultrasound findings predict the symptomatology and quality of life in rheumatoid arthritis patients?

To evaluate the ankle, hindfoot, and heel changes (determined by physical examination, ultrasound and baropodometry) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, to compare the findings with healthy subjects, and to analyze if these findings are associated with ankle pain and could affect the quality of life. We enrolled 35 rheumatoid arthritis patients and 35 healthy controls, and evaluated their ankles (tibiotalar joints, tendons), hindfeet (talonavicular, subtalar joints) and heels using clinical examination, DAS28-CRP, RAPID3 for the evaluation of functional status, quality of life in rheumatoid arthritis questionnaire, ultrasound, and baropodometry. The ultrasound inter-observer agreement was good for the subtalar joint, and very good for the other structures.

Reasons for discordances between ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging in the evaluation of the ankle, hindfoot and heel of the patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Aim: To compare the ultrasonography (US) performance with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in identifying pathology in ankles, hindfeet and heels of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and to evaluate the reasons for discordances between the two imaging methods.

Material And Methods: RA patients were enrolled and evaluated using the Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) and the Disease Activity Score 28 with C-reactive Protein (DAS28-CRP). The ankle (tibiotalar joint, tendons), hindfoot (talonavicular, subtalar joints) and heel of the most symptomatic or dominant foot (for the asymptomatic patient)were evaluated by two pairs of examiners using US and contrast-enhanced MRI.