الفهرس 
Aim of the workOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSK-US) is a key tool in
managing inflammatory arthritis, giving precise images of joints to
identify early signs of activity and damage. It excels in detecting
inflammation and erosion and is critical in diagnosis and treatment
decisions. MSK-US findings are considered alongside clinical
symptoms and labs, improving diagnosis accuracy, informing
treatment, and leading to better disease management and joint health.
This study assesses how MSK-US impacts inflammatory arthritis
monitoring and correlates with clinical activity scores.
In this cross sectional study, conducted between October 2022
and September 2023, 120 patients with inflammatory arthritis were
categorized into adult (75) and pediatric (45) groups by age, including
79 females and 41 males, ranging from 2 years to 74 years old. The
diagnosis for each disease was based on the well-established criteria
for each type. Patients from different university hospitals were
selected after ethical committee approval and providing informed
consent. All participants were experiencing joint pain attributable to
an established diagnosis of inflammatory origin. Exclusion criteria
encompassed various conditions including degenerative and metabolic
arthritis, severe systemic diseases, neoplasms, recent joint trauma or
injections, diabetic arthropathy, severe renal, or liver diseases.
Patients with symptomatic joint pain underwent a detailed
clinical evaluation. Pain intensity was quantified using the Visual
Analogue Scale. A complete physical examination assessed joint
functionality and signs of inflammation. Laboratory work included
full blood counts, ESR levels, along with basic assessments of liver and kidney function. Disease activity was measured using diseasespecific indices for each condition.
The musculoskeletal ultrasound was conducted during regular
patient follow-ups, focusing on symptomatic peripheral joints.
Rheumatologists and radiologists, blind to the patients’ clinical data,
performed the MSK-US to match ultrasound findings with reported
symptoms. They used advanced ultrasound machines compliant with
EULAR guidelines, employing multi-planar scans and high-frequency
transducers (15-18 MHz). Gray scale imaging identified joint
abnormalities like erosions and synovitis, while a semi-quantitative
system graded synovitis severity from 0 (none) to 3 (marked). Power
Doppler imaging was used to assess synovitis vascularization, with a
grading system.
Data from the study were organized and evaluated using SPSS
version 26. The analysis featured both descriptive and analytic
statistics. Descriptive statistics presented qualitative data as counts and
percentages. Analytic statistics included Pearson Chi-squared and
Fisher exact tests for relationships between qualitative variables,
Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis tests for non-normally distributed quantitative variables, and Spearman correlation for
assessing correlations.