Ultrasound Findings on Hands and Wrists of Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Relationship with Physical Examination

Publication date: Available online 9 June 2017
Source:Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology
Author(s): Carolina Freitas Lins, Daniel Lima de Sá Ribeiro, Willer Gonçalves Dourado Santos, Genevievi Rosa, Viviane Machicado, Ana Luisa Pedreira, Emanuela Pimenta da Fonseca, Anna Paula Mota Duque Sousa, Carla Baleeiro Rodrigues Silva, Marcos Antonio Almeida Matos, Mittermayer Barreto Santiago
Diagnosis of synovitis/tenosynovitis by physical examination can be difficult. Ultrasound (US) can be an effective tool for the evaluation of joint involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This study will describe musculoskeletal findings by US in SLE patients and the evaluation of their correlation with physical examination. SLE patients underwent clinical/sonographic evaluation of hand/wrists. In total, 896 joints were evaluated: at least 1 change on physical examination was found in 136 joints and at least 1 US abnormality was found in 65 of 896 joints. Out of the 65 joints with US changes, only 13 had findings on physical examination. Conversely, 111 joints had tenderness on physical examination with no sonographic abnormalities. Tenosynovitis was statistically significant more frequently with joint edema (41%) (p = 0.0003). US can detect musculoskeletal changes in only a minority of symptomatic SLE patients. Clinical findings may be related to some reasons that cannot be explained using US.



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