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How is the ultrasound in rheumatology used, implemented, and applied in Latin American centers? Results from a multicenter study

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Abstract

This study aimed to perform an overview of how ultrasound (US) is being used, implemented, and applied in rheumatologic centers in Latin America (LA). A retrospective, multicenter 1-year experience study was undertaken. Eighteen centers from eight countries were involved. The following information were collected: demographic data, indication to perform an US examination, physician that required the examination, and the anatomical region required for the examination. A total of 7167 patients underwent an US examination. The request for US examinations came most frequently from their own institution (5981 (83.45 %)) than from external referral (1186 (16.55 %)). The services that more frequently requested an US examination were rheumatology 5154 (71.91 %), followed by orthopedic 1016 (14.18 %), and rehabilitation 375 (5.23 %). The most frequently scanned area was the shoulder in 1908 cases (26.62 %), followed by hand 1754 (24.47 %), knee 1518 (21.18 %), ankle 574 (8.01 %), and wrist 394 (5.50 %). Osteoarthritis was the most common disease assessed (2279 patients (31.8 %)), followed by rheumatoid arthritis (2125 patients (29.65 %)), psoriatic arthritis (869 patients (12.1 %)), painful shoulder syndrome (545 (7.6 %)), connective tissue disorders (systemic sclerosis 339 (4.7 %), polymyositis/dermatomyositis 107 (1.4 %), Sjögren’s syndrome 60 (0.8 %), and systemic lupus erythematosus 57 (0.8 %)). US evaluation was more frequently requested for diagnostic purposes (3981 (55.5 %)) compared to follow-up studies (2649 (36.9 %)), research protocols (339 (4.73 %)), and invasive guided procedures (198 (2.76 %)). US registered increasing applications in rheumatology and highlighted its positive impact in daily clinical practice. US increases the accuracy of the musculoskeletal clinical examination, influence the diagnosis, and the disease management.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitación, Luis Guillermo Ibarra Ibarra, Calzada Mexico-Xochimilco 289 Colonia Arenal de Guadalupe, 143898, Mexico City, CP, Mexico

    Marwin Gutierrez, Cristina Hernandez-Diaz, Lucio Ventura-Rios, Lina María Saldarriaga-Rivera, Ana Cecilia Lozada-Navarro, Araceli Bernal, Maribel Lozano & Carlos Pineda

  2. Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Santiago Ruta

  3. Hospital Nacional Edgardo Rebagliati Martins, ESSALUD, Lima, Perú

    Magaly Alva, Claudia Mora -Trujillo, Wilkerson Pérez & Henry Terrazas

  4. Centro Clínico la Isabelica Valencia, Carabobo, Venezuela

    Rodolfo del Carmen Arape Toyo

  5. Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela

    Maritza Quintero

  6. Hospital Nacional Rosales, San Salvador, El Salvador

    Carla Solano

  7. Hospital II Marino Molina – Comas, Lima, Perú

    Oscar Sedano Santiago & Janet Grisel Huamán Sotomayor

  8. Clínica Centenario Peruano Japonesa, Lima, Perú

    Cesar Cefferino

  9. Hospital Nacional de Clínicas, Córdoba, Argentina

    Guillermo E Py & Marcelo J Audisio

  10. Centro Médico privado de Reumatología Tucumán, Tucuman, Argentina

    Walter Javier Spindler & Horacio Berman

  11. Hospital Provincial de la Ciudad de Rosario, Rosario, Argentina

    Carla Airoldi & Rómulo Wong

  12. Instituto mexicano del seguro Social UMAE 25, Monterrey, México

    Ana Laura Álvarez del Castillo Araujo

  13. Hospital Universitario Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá, Bogotá, Colombia

    Mario E Díaz

  14. Servicio de Reumatología IPS, Medellín, Colombia

    Carmen Cerón Villaquiran

  15. Funinderma Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia

    Rubén Darío Mantilla

  16. Pontificia Universidade Católica de Campinas, Campinas, Brasil

    José Alexandre Mendonça

  17. HOSPITAL SÃO LUCAS PUCRS, PORTO ALEGRE, Brasil

    Inês Guimarães da Silveira, Aline Defaveri do Prado & Melissa Cláudia Bisi

  18. Hospital Docente Padre Billini, Santo Domingo, República Dominicana

    Violeta Rosario, Jeannette Medrano-Sánchez & Roberto Muñoz-Louis

Authors
  1. Marwin Gutierrez
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  2. Cristina Hernandez-Diaz
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  5. Santiago Ruta
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  6. Magaly Alva
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  7. Claudia Mora -Trujillo
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  8. Wilkerson Pérez
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  9. Henry Terrazas
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  10. Rodolfo del Carmen Arape Toyo
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  11. Maritza Quintero
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  12. Carla Solano
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  13. Oscar Sedano Santiago
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  14. Janet Grisel Huamán Sotomayor
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  15. Cesar Cefferino
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  16. Guillermo E Py
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  17. Marcelo J Audisio
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  18. Walter Javier Spindler
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  19. Horacio Berman
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  20. Carla Airoldi
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  21. Rómulo Wong
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  22. Ana Laura Álvarez del Castillo Araujo
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  23. Mario E Díaz
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  24. Carmen Cerón Villaquiran
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  25. Rubén Darío Mantilla
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  26. José Alexandre Mendonça
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  27. Inês Guimarães da Silveira
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  28. Aline Defaveri do Prado
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  29. Melissa Cláudia Bisi
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  30. Violeta Rosario
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  31. Jeannette Medrano-Sánchez
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  32. Roberto Muñoz-Louis
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  33. Ana Cecilia Lozada-Navarro
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  34. Araceli Bernal
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  35. Maribel Lozano
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  36. Carlos Pineda
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Consortia

On behalf of the Pan-American League Against Rheumatisms (PANLAR) Ultrasound Study Group

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marwin Gutierrez.

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Disclosures

MG has attended advisory board meetings and scientific consultancies and has obtained consulting fees from AbbVie, UCB Pharma, Esaote S.p.a, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Merck Sharp & Dohme. The rest of the authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

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Gutierrez, M., Hernandez-Diaz, C., Ventura-Rios, L. et al. How is the ultrasound in rheumatology used, implemented, and applied in Latin American centers? Results from a multicenter study. Clin Rheumatol 35, 2893–2900 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-016-3382-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-016-3382-y

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