Key clinical point: Clinical examination (CE) enthesitis indices should be interpreted with caution in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and concurrent fibromyalgia. Imaging including ultrasound should be preferred over CE to detect enthesitis in these patients.
Major finding: Patients with PsA with vs. without fibromyalgia had higher CE enthesitis scores (Leeds Enthesitis Index, 2.7 vs. 1.0; P less than .0001; Spondyloarthritis Research Consortium of Canada Enthesitis Index, 7.6 vs . 2.4; P less than .0001); however, ultrasound total scores ( P = .87) were not different. No correlation was observed between ultrasound scores and CE enthesitis indices in patients having concurrent fibromyalgia.
Study details: Findings are from a prospective study of 106 outpatients with established PsA who underwent CE for enthesitis and ultrasonographic examination for inflammatory and structural lesions of enthesitis.
Disclosures: The authors received no financial support for research, authorship, and/or publication of the article. The authors declared no competing interests.
Source: Sapsford M et al. Ther Adv Musculoskelet Dis. 2021 Mar 29. doi: 10.1177/1759720X211003812 .