The personality of bone erosions on...

The personality of bone erosions on radiographic imaging is individual of the diagnostic criteria for rheumatoid arthritis. new management of rheumatoid arthritis emphasizes early intervention with disease-modifying agents when disease progression is apparent. Initial studies of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have moveed a greater sensitivity for detection of bony erosions than standard radiography. Ostergaard and colleagues performed a five-year follow-up contemplation comparing MRI and radiography for detection of modern bone erosions in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

The authors followed 10 patients who fulfilled the American college edifice [i]or[/i] building of Rheumatology criteria for rheumatoid arthritis. MRI and radiography of the dominant wrist were performed annually for five years. All patients were taking disease-modifying agents at studious mood entry. Of the 150 carpal bone initially imaged, nine erosions were descryed by radiography at baseline.

A total of 27 just discovered bone erosions were detected at radiography over the five years of the investigation MRI was able to discover 21 of the erosions earlier than radiography. Three erosions were lay opened at the same time, sum of two units erosions were found earlier with radiography, and the same erosion found by radiography was in no degree apparent with MRI. On average, MRI was able to lay open bone erosions two years before they were apparent forward radiographs. The presence of bone erosions upon MRI was predictive of progression to erosions visible according to radiography at the end of the five-year follow-up In patients with erosions detectable through MRI at baseline, the risk of progression to a radiographically visible erosion through the end of the research was increased 4.5-fold.

The authors infer that MRI is more sensitive than standard radiography in the detection of bone erosions in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. MRI can identify recently made known erosions at least one year earlier than radiography, and patients with abnormalities forward MRI are more likely to have progressive disease.

Ostergaard M et al. just discovered radiographic bone erosions in the wrists of patients with rheumatoid arthritis are detectable with magnetic resonance imaging a median of couple years earlier. Arthritis Rheum August 2003;48: 2128-31

COPYRIGHT 2004 American Academy of Family Physicians

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