Comparative Study between MRI and Ultrasound in Articular Affection of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Abstract Background The earlier investigations showed that ultrasound had a moderate degree of accuracy in identifying and foretelling rheumatoid arthritis complications at various stages of the disease. Objective Evaluation of the accuracy of ultrasound imaging in comparison to MRI as a cheap method using non ionizing radiation in assessment of the rheumatoid arthritis patients. Methods During this study, 20 patients with clinically and laboratory proven rheumatoid arthritis were enrolled after consenting of them and subjected to ultrasound and MRI examination to compare between them in prediction of synovitis, tenosynovitis, joint effusion, bone marrow oedema, bone erosion and power Doppler activity. Results MRI was more accurate than ultrasound in assessment of bone marrow edema. On the other hand and as regard Doppler activity, ultrasound was more accurate than MRI. Finally, no differences were detected between both modalities in detection of synovitis, tenosynovitis, joint effusion and bone erosion. Conclusion Since MRI was more accurate than ultrasound in assessing bone marrow edoema, ultrasound and MRI complement one another in the assessment of articular affection in rheumatoid arthritis. On the other hand, ultrasonography was more accurate than MRI in terms of Doppler activity. Eventually, no variations in the detection of synovitis, tenosynovitis, joint effusion, and bone erosion were found between them.