Publications by authors named "Nagachika Sugisaki"
Objectives: To determine which grade of ultrasound (US) synovitis corresponds to clinically involved joints in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and develops a new US-adjusted composite measure.
Methods: Clinical and US examinations were performed on 137 patients with RA (28 joints). Synovial effusion, hypertrophy, and blood flow were semiquantitatively graded from 0 to 3 using gray scale (GS) and power Doppler (PD) modes.
Objective: To determine the degree of contribution and the contributing factors of ultrasound in the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in daily clinical practice and the predictive differences depending on seropositivity.
Methods: We included 122 patients who presented with the main complaint of finger and/or wrist joint pain but for whom no definite diagnosis was reached or treatment strategy was provided. Ultrasound was performed on at least 22 joints (both wrist joints, proximal interphalangeal joint, and metacarpophalangeal joints), and patients were followed for ≥6 months.
Article Synopsis
- The study aims to identify predictors of ongoing subclinical synovitis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to assess whether extended periods of clinical remission can help decrease this condition.
- Among the 44 RA patients examined, a significant 59.1% showed signs of residual synovitis despite being in clinical remission as measured by the DAS28ESR scale.
- The findings indicate that patients with less joint damage, as measured by the Genant-modified total Sharp score, are more likely to achieve full remission, highlighting the importance of early treatment and maintaining remission to prevent further joint damage.
Objective: To determine whether weighting improves the correlation of ultrasound (US) score with serum matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) level in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Methods: As ultrasound examination was performed on 100 RA patients, and the severity of synovial effusion and synovial hypertrophy and the blood flow were semi-quantitatively graded from 0 to 3 by using the gray-scale (GS) and power Doppler (PD) modes. We then calculated the sums of the scores of the 28 joints of each patient in the 2 modes, that is, the GS28 and PD28 scores, as well as the respective scores weighted using the Lansbury articular index (LAI, shoulder and elbow, × 12; wrist, × 8; and knee, × 24)-Lans GS28 and Lans PD28 scores.
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine if routine clinical measures can predict the presence and severity of ultrasound synovitis in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.
Methods: Bilateral 1-5 MCP (metacarpopharangeal) and wrist joints were examined using power Doppler (PD) ultrasound (US). Correlations between PD scores and routine clinical measures of RA - swollen joint count (SJC), tender joint count, patient's global assessment (GA), physician's GA, CRP, ESR, MMP-3, RF and anti-CCP antibody - were determined and used to identify significant predictors of PD score.