In a study, researchers sought to recognize patients with subclinical psoriatic arthritis (PsA) by ultrasound to provide a screening solution. Of 490 patients included in the study, 384 patients without symptoms of arthritis were placed in the silent psoriasis cohort, while 106 patients with symptoms of arthritis (named prodromal/active PsA phase) were placed in the clinical PsA cohort. The control group contained 80 participants without psoriasis. Clinical evaluations and ultrasound examinations of 60 joints, 38 tendons, and 40 entheses were given to each participant in the study. It was found that synovio-enthesitis differed considerably among the control group and silent psoriasis group (1.3% vs 16.1%, p<.001). The most frequently involved synovio-enthesitis site was the knee (79.0%). Approximately 16.1% of the silent psoriasis group and 12.7% of total patients with psoriasis were in the subclinical PsA phase, from having synovio-enthesitis as the standard.
Reference: Chen ZT, Chen RF, Li XL, et al. The role of ultrasound in screening subclinical psoriatic arthritis in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis [published online ahead of print, 2023 Feb 28]. Eur Radiol. 2023;10.1007/s00330-023-09493-4. doi:10.1007/s00330-023-09493-4
