Abstract:
Objective To determine the correlation between quantitative results of contrast-enhanced ultrasound and clinical and laboratory index for synovium of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods Thirty-five RA patients participated in this study, with ten normal adults serving as controls. They were given a score of DAS28 and underwent laboratory tests, including erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP). Contrast-enhanced ultrasound examinations were performed to detect thickness of synovium (2D and Power Dopple). Results Peak intensity (PI) and area under the curve (
AUC) were positively correlated with ESR, CRP and DAS28 score, respectively (
P<0.01). The rest of ultrasound parameters had no significant correlations with ESR, CRP and DAS28 score (
P>0.05). Synovium thickness identified by contrast-enhanced ultrasound had significant correlations with ESR, CRP and DAS28 score (
P<0.01). Conclusion Synovium thickness determined by contrast-enhanced ultrasound, PI and
AUC can serve as an index estimating inflammatory activity of RA, and provide evidence for clinical diagnosis and treatment.