Abstract
The aim of this study was to compare the relationship between clinically detected swelling and effusion diagnosed by ultrasonography (US) in elbow joints in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Fifty consecutive patients with RA entered the study and 20 healthy persons formed a control group. Altogether 100 elbow joints of the RA patients and 40 of the controls were studied. All the clinical assessments were performed by one doctor and the US investigations by the other and they were blinded to each others results. In 77 elbow joints of the RA patients the clinical assessment and the US gave similar results, whereas they differed in the remaining 23 joints. The kappa coefficient between these investigations was 0.371. In the control group no elbow joint showed either swelling in the clinical assessment or effusion in the US investigation. The results of this study indicate that clinical assessment of swelling and evaluation of effusion by US in elbow joints in patients with RA show only fair agreement. Thus, US may improve the accuracy of diagnosis of synovitis in many cases in these patients.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Grassi W, Cervini C (1998) Ultrasonography in rheumatology: an evolving technique. Ann Rheum Dis 57:268–271
Gibbon W (1996) Musculoskeletal ultrasound. Baillieres Clin Rheumatol 10:561–588
Arnett FC, Edworthy SM, Bloch DA, McShane DJ, Fries JF, Cooper NS et al (1988) The American Rheumatism Association 1987 revised criteria for the classification of rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum 31:315–324
van Riel PLMC, van Gestaledes AM, Scott DL (eds) EULAR handbook of clinical assessment in rheumatoid arthritis. van Zuiden, The Netherlands, p 16
Koski JM (1990) Ultrasonography of the elbow joint. Rheumatol Int 10:91–94
Backhaus M, Schmidt WA, Mellerowicz H, Bohl-Buhler D, Banzer D, Brauun J et al (2002) Technik und Stellenwert der Arthrosonographie in der rheumatologischen Diagnostik. Z Rheumatol 6:415–425
Liebertrau AM (1983) Measures of association. Sage Publications, London
Hauzeur JP, Mathy L, De Maertelaer V (1999) Comparison between clinical evaluation and ultrasonography in detecting hydrarthrosis of the knee. J Rheumatol 26:2681–2683
Östergaard M, Court-Payen M, Gideon P, Wieslander S, Cortsen M, Lorenzen I, Henriksen O (1995) Ultrasonography in arthritis of the knee. A comparison with MR imaging. Acta Radiol 6:19–26
De Maeseneer M, Jacobson JA, Jaovisidha S, Lenchik L, Ryu KN, Trudell DR, et al (1998) Elbow effusion: distribution of joint fluid with flexion and extension and imaging implications. Invest Radiol 33:117–125
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Luukkainen, R., Sanila, M.T., Saltyshev, M. et al. Relationship between clinically detected joint swelling and effusion diagnosed by ultrasonography in elbow joints in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Clin Rheumatol 24, 228–231 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-004-1010-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-004-1010-8