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Musculoskeletal ultrasound may be useful tool for assessment of children with reactive arthritis
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Musculoskeletal ultrasound imaging may be a complementary tool in the assessment and ongoing monitoring of symptoms in children with reactive arthritis, according to recently presented data.
Researchers studied the charts from 88 children with reactive arthritis referred to the Department of Rheumatology at the Children’s Hospital Srebrnjak in Zagreb, Croatia between 2012 and 2014. Clinical symptoms included limping, swelling and limited range of motion in 64 of the 88 patients.
All children were evaluated by an experienced pediatric rheumatologists. Musculoskeletal ultrasound was performed at least once in 62 of the patients and again in 26 patients at follow-up. Seventeen patients were eventually diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), two patients were diagnosed with other diseases and the rest of the patients were diagnosed with reactive arthritis. Patients with JIA were monitored using ultrasound between 1 month and 9 months prior to diagnosis. Only two patients had persistent pathological findings on ultrasound during their final check-up, according to the researchers.
“The importance of clinical competence in ensuring that patients with articular symptoms are diagnosed and treated early is evident,” the researchers wrote. “[Musculoskeletal ultrasound] has been proven to detect synovitis in earlier stage than clinical examination, thus becoming a complementary tool in routine pediatric rheumatology practice.” – by Shirley Pulawski
Reference:
Vidovic M, et al. Paper #AB0993. Presented at: European League Against Rheumatism Annual European Congress of Rheumatology; June 10-13, 2015; Rome.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.