Diagnosis
A longitudinal study using B mode ultrasound and power Doppler as monitoring imaging tools in inclusion body myositis
S. Paramalingam1, M. Needham2, F.L. Mastaglia3, H.I. Keen4
- University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle, Western Australia, and Department of Rheumatology, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia. shereen.paramalingam@health.wa.gov.au
- University Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle, Western Australia; Institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, and Department of Neurology, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia.
- Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science, University of Western Australia, Australia.
- Department of Rheumatology, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Murdoch, Western Australia, and School of Medicine, University of Western Australia, Australia.
CER16969
2024 Vol.42, N°2
PI 0351, PF 0357
Diagnosis
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PMID: 37877419 [PubMed]
Received: 01/07/2023
Accepted : 26/09/2023
In Press: 13/10/2023
Published: 14/03/2024
Abstract
OBJECTIVES:
There is growing interest in ultrasound (US) as an outcome measure in IBM. Our study aimed to determine the ability of B mode US and power Doppler (PD) to detect changes in affected muscles over time and if US domains correlate with disease progression.
METHODS:
Participants attended on four occasions over a median follow-up period of 26 months. All completed a patient self-reported health assessment questionnaire (HAQ), patient visual analogue scale (pVAS), manual muscle testing (MMT), and US (fascial thickness-FT, muscle bulk, echogenicity, and PD) on deltoid and vastus lateralis (VL) muscles at each visit.
RESULTS:
This longitudinal observational study had 35 participants: 21 (60%) males, median age 70 (IQR (64-76), and the majority (85.7%) not on immunosuppression. When analysed for sex differences at baseline, males had lower FT-VL (p=0.018) and higher muscle bulk (p=0.002) than females. Only FT-deltoid (p<0.001) increased significantly over time with follow-up. When participants were stratified into progressors and non-progressors, FT at baseline was lower in progressors (0.06 vs. 0.09, p=0.017), who were predominantly male. There were no significant differences in other US domains.
CONCLUSIONS:
Our study highlights previously unreported sex differences in US findings in IBM. Certain US domains, such as FT, showed measurable changes over time and correlated with disease progression. However, further studies with longer follow-up periods and larger patient cohorts will need to be performed to determine whether B mode US could be a useful disease outcome measure for therapeutic trials.
