Role of ultrasonography in diagnosing early rheumatoid arthritis and it’s remission

Background: Rheumatoid Arthritis is an autoimmune disorder primarily affecting the synovial tissue. Over the past ten years, advancements in ultrasonography quality have made it possible to employ higher ultrasonic frequencies, leading to an improvement in the quality of ultrasound examinations of superficial structures. Ultrasound has improved to the point where it can now be used to evaluate patients for rheumatic conditions. Grey-scale Ultrasound, which may identify morphological abnormalities such as synovial thickening and bone erosion, and Doppler Ultrasound, which can show blood flow in the synovium and surrounding tissue, are the two forms of Ultrasound that are used. Objectives: 1. To evaluate the efficacy of Ultrasonography in diagnosing early Rheumatoid Arthritis 2. To evaluate the efficacy of Ultrasonography in diagnosing Rheumatoid Arthritis remission. 2. To evaluate the correlation of findings seen on Ultrasonography with clinical parameters in diagnosis of early Rheumatoid Arthritis and it’s remission. Materials and Methods:  The study was conducted in Department of Radiodiagnosis, S.N. Medical College, Agra. The study included 72 clinically confirmed cases of Rheumatoid Arthritis. All the cases in the study were followed up for 1.5 years. Conclusion:  The study emphasizes how useful Ultrasonography is for the early diagnosis and treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis. Clinicians can measure disease progression and therapy response more accurately by combining clinical observations with Ultrasonography.