ROME – Tenosynovitis on ultrasound might be the next criterion added to the diagnostic criteria for rheumatoid arthritis if it is confirmed as a valid marker for early disease detection, according to Dr. Andrew Filer.
He and his colleagues performed ultrasound assessments of 16 tendon regions in 107 patients in the Birmingham Early Arthritis Cohort Study (BEACON) who had clinically apparent synovitis involving at least one joint with a symptom duration of 3 months or less. They examined patient outcomes at 18 months.
Tenosynovitis in either the extensor carpi ulnaris tendons or the hand flexor tendons independently predicted early RA, and both were still significant independent predictors of early RA in seronegative patients, Dr. Filer of the University of Birmingham (England) said in this video interview at the European Congress of Rheumatology.