Ultrasound in the Evaluation of Dactylitis and Enthesitis in Psoriatic Arthritis.

Dactylitis is a clinical concept that corresponds to the swelling of the whole finger or toe giving a sausage appearance. Although it can be observed in different diseases, it is a distinctive clinical feature of psoriatic arthritis and is associated with a poor prognosis. Ultrasound has made it possible to improve our understanding of the pathogenesis of psoriatic arthritis dactylitis, identifying associated structural alterations, namely, flexor tenosynovitis, subcutaneous tissue edema, pulley inflammation with thickening and intra-pulley Doppler signals, extensor paratenonitis, synovitis, pericapsular bone formation, and flexor enthesitis.

Power Doppler ultrasonography assessment of entheses in spondyloarthropathies: response to therapy of entheseal abnormalities.

Objective: To investigate the response to therapy of entheseal abnormalities assessed with power Doppler (PD) ultrasound (US) in spondyloarthropathies (SpA).

Methods: A total of 327 patients with active SpA who were starting anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapy were prospectively recruited at 35 Spanish centers. A PDUS examination of 14 peripheral entheses was performed by the same investigator in each center at baseline and at 6 months.

Validity, reproducibility, and responsiveness of a twelve-joint simplified power doppler ultrasonographic assessment of joint inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To investigate the validity, reproducibility, and responsiveness of a simplified power Doppler ultrasound (PDUS) assessment of joint inflammation compared with a comprehensive 44-joint PDUS assessment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who started therapy with a biologic agent.

Methods: A total of 160 patients with active RA who started a biologic agent were prospectively recruited in 18 Spanish centers. The patients underwent clinical and laboratory assessment and blinded PDUS examination at baseline and 6 months.