Ultrasound imaging for the rheumatologist XXIV. Sonographic evaluation of wrist and hand joint and tendon involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus.

CER764
2009 Vol.27, N°6
PI 0897, PF 0901
Imaging

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PMID: 20149302 [PubMed]

Received: 09/12/2009
Accepted : 11/12/2009
In Press: 02/04/2010
Published: 02/03/2010

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune multisystem disorder characterized by frequent musculoskeletal manifestations. Joint involvement in SLE is usually not erosive or destructive but some patients develop hand erosive arthritis or deforming arthropathy of the hand (respectively `rhupus` hand and Jaccoud arthritis). To date, few studies, evaluated joint and tendon involvement in SLE patients by US. We studied wrist and hand structure, using ultrasound, in 50 patients affected by SLE, detecting inflammatory joint involvement in 80% of them at the wrist and in 50% at the hand. Tenosynovitis was visualized in 14 patients, while structural damage was present 12% of the SLE group. Those results reinforces the importance of including musculoskeletal ultrasound in the patient assessment, especially in those cases in which physical examination is not conclusive.