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The objective of this study is to estimate the prevalence of US findings indicative of calcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD) in patients with knee pain. Consecutive patients with knee pain, equally distributed among males and females in seven different age-decades (21–90 years), were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. The presence of US OMERACT-defined CPPD (medial and lateral menisci and femoral hyaline cartilage) and osteophytes (medial and lateral compartments of the tibiofemoral joint) was scored as presence/absence in both knees. Four hundred twenty participants were enrolled (210 men/210 women). Fibrocartilage and hyaline cartilage CPPDs were detected by US in 94/420 (22.4%) and 41/420 (9.8%) participants, respectively. No significant sex differences were noted. The prevalence and the extent of CPPD increased with age. Fibrocartilage and hyaline cartilage CPPDs were identified in 0/60 participants in the third decade, and in 28/60 (46.7%) and 14/60 (23.3%) participants in the ninth decade, respectively (p for trend < 0.01). While fibrocartilage and hyaline cartilage CPPD is virtually absent in subjects younger than 40 and 50 years old, their prevalence steeply increases above from these age groups. Age (aIRR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.02–1.05), osteophyte score (aIRR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.22–1.60), and hyaline cartilage CPPD score (aIRR, 2.68; 95% CI, 2.06–3.49) were associated with fibrocartilage CPPD score, whereas age (aIRR, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.01–1.05) and fibrocartilage CPPD score (aIRR, 2.92; 95% CI, 2.29–3.72) were associated with hyaline cartilage CPPD score in multivariable negative binomial regression analyses. In conclusion, we report the US prevalence of CPPD in patients with knee pain. Fibrocartilage CPPD occurs at a younger age and is more prevalent than hyaline cartilage CPPD. Key points • Fibrocartilage CPPD occurs at a younger age and is more prevalent than hyaline cartilage CPPD. • Fibrocartilage and hyaline cartilage CPPDs are virtually absent in subjects younger than 40 and 50 years old. • In subjects older than 80 years, fibrocartilage and hyaline cartilage CPPD prevalence rises up to 46.7% and 23.3%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a comment on a study titled "The burden of entheseal involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus: a comparative ultrasonographic study." The authors of the comment express their interest in the study and highlight the importance of understanding the impact of enthesitis (inflammation of the sites where tendons or ligaments attach to bone) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. They also raise some questions and concerns about the study, including discrepancies in the reported data and the definition of US-enthesitis. The authors suggest that further clarification and a more detailed description of the ultrasound features would enhance the practical implications of the study's results. [Extracted from the article]

Imaging has been playing an important role in the pathogenetic and clinical characterisation of many rheumatic diseases, especially in the most recent years with the advent of many new, highly technological and promising techniques. Calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease (CPPD) benefited also from these new techniques, most of which can readily identify calcium crystals. Nowadays, imaging is used mainly to identify crystals in joints but given the complexity of CPPD, imaging should be used with an "holistic" approach in order to gain insights in the pathogenesis, spectrum of clinical manifestations and natural history of the disease. Furthermore, overlap or association of CPPD with other prevalent diseases of the elderly makes the differential diagnosis challenging. In this review, we provide a critical review of the current knowledge on the use of imaging both for the identification of crystals and for its application in clinical practice as an aid for determining the impact of the disease on patients. Key Points • CPPD is a complex disease with a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations and understanding of pathogenetic mechanisms and clinical phenotypes is essential for correct characterisation • Imaging has made important advances regarding identification of CPPD in recent years, and new, more sophisticated techniques are under investigation • Imaging has the potential to improve our knowledge on pathogenesis and clinical phenotypes of CPPD • Imaging techniques have to be tested thoroughly for reliability, discrimination and sensitivity to change before they can be implemented in clinical trials [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To comparatively assess the sonographic spectrum of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and in patients with idiopathic CTS. Methods: Fifty-seven RA patients and 25 idiopathic CTS patients were consecutively enrolled. The diagnosis of CTS in RA patients was made according to clinical history and examination. The following sonographic findings were assessed at carpal tunnel level: median nerve cross-sectional area (CSA) at the carpal tunnel proximal inlet, finger flexor tendons tenosynovitis, radio-carpal synovitis and intraneural power Doppler (PD) signal. Results: CTS was diagnosed in 15/57 RA patients (26.3%). Twenty-three RA wrists with CTS, 84 RA wrists without CTS and 34 idiopathic CTS wrists were evaluated. The average CSA of the median nerve was higher in idiopathic CTS than in RA wrists with CTS (17.7 mm2 vs 10.6 mm2, p < 0.01). A higher rate of inflammation of synovial structures (flexor tendons sheath and/or radio-carpal joint) was found in RA wrists with CTS compared with those without CTS (p = 0.04) and idiopathic CTS (p = 0.02). Intraneural PD signal was more common in CTS (in both RA and idiopathic CTS) wrists compared with wrists without CTS (p < 0.01). Conclusion: The sonographic spectrum of CTS in RA patients is characterized by an inflammatory pattern, defined by the presence of finger flexor tendons tenosynovitis and/or radio-carpal joint synovitis. Conversely, a marked median nerve swelling is the dominant feature in idiopathic CTS. Intraneural PD signal is a frequent finding in both conditions. Key Points • Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and idiopathic CTS have distinct ultrasound patterns. • The most characteristic sonographic features of CTS in RA patients are those indicative of synovial tissue inflammation at carpal tunnel level. Conversely, marked median nerve swelling is the dominant finding in idiopathic CTS. • Intraneural power Doppler signal is a frequent finding in both conditions. • In patients with CTS, differently from electrophysiology, US can provide clues prompting a rheumatology referral in case of prominent inflammatory findings at carpal tunnel level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrasound is a rapidly evolving technique that is gaining an increasing success in the assessment of psoriatic arthritis. Most of the studies have been aimed at investigating its ability in the assessment of joints, tendons, and entheses in psoriatic arthritis patients. Less attention has been paid to demonstrate the potential of ultrasound in the evaluation of skin and nail. The aim of this pictorial essay was to show the main high-frequency grayscale and power Doppler ultrasound findings in patients with psoriatic arthritis at joint, tendon, enthesis, skin, and nail level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrasound (US) is a promising tool for assessing sarcopenia. We aimed to test in the rheumatology setting two US scanning protocols to measure muscle thickness (MT) at the anterior thigh level and to assess their feasibility and reliability. In the first phase of the study, three rheumatologists performed a US examination on 19 consecutive patients adopting two scanning protocols, namely the anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS) and the greater trochanter techniques. After consensus was obtained on the easiest scanning protocol to perform, two rheumatologists adopted only the ASIS technique in 40 consecutive patients. MT measurements were recorded as well as the time needed to complete each scanning protocol bilaterally. The median time needed to complete the US examination was under 5 minutes for each of the two techniques, with no significant difference between them (p = 0.64). In the first phase, we found an excellent inter-observer reliability of the proposed scanning protocols, with a higher but nonstatistically significant intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for the ASIS technique compared with the greater trochanter technique (ICC 0.97 vs. ICC 0.92, p = 0.05). The ASIS technique had a significantly higher intra-observer reliability (ICC 0.97 vs. ICC 0.92, p < 0.01). In the second phase, the ASIS technique confirmed on a larger sample its excellent inter-observer reliability, with an ICC of 0.96. The present study presents a novel tool for assessing sarcopenia and provides evidence in favor of feasibility and reliability of US measurement of MT at the anterior thigh level in rheumatology setting. Key Points • This study demonstrates that ultrasound (US) measurement of muscle thickness at the anterior thigh level is highly reliable, especially for the "anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS)" technique. • The short time needed to complete the US assessment highlights the feasibility of the proposed scanning protocols. • The simplicity and conciseness of the proposed techniques will allow other researchers and clinicians to use it for a fast assessment of sarcopenia.