Ultrasound evaluation of uveitis in patients with psoriatic arthritis

Background: Uveitis is a manifestation of psoriatic arthritis that can occur in any topographic site of the uvea and can be acute, recurrent insidious or chronic. B-mode ocular ultrasoud (US) is a useful imaging method for diagnosing changes such as vitritis and thickening of the optic nerve sheath. This study evaluated vitritis in patients with psoriatic arthritis using B-mode ultrasound. Methods: cross-sectional study included rheumatic patients from a tertiary hospital who met the Classification Criteria for Psoriatic Arthritis (CASPAR), from August to December 2021. Demographic data, clinical characteristics and psoriatic disease activity data were alsocollected. Ophthalmological examinations werer performed using a slit lamp. Ocular evaluation using ultrasound classified semi-quantitative vitritis a 0 to 3 degrees and measurement of the optic nerve sheath. Results: 34 patients, with a mean age of 55.2 (± 12.5) years was enrolled. Most patients were female and had high disease activity according to the Disease Activity in PSoriatic Arthritis (DAPSA) score. B-mode ultrasound revealed vitritis in more than 70% of the eyes. Among the patients with uveitis detected by ultrasound, almost half had uveitis with high activity according to the DAPSA (p=0.03), 88.2% had ophthalmological symptoms (p=0.02) and 82.4% had thickening of the optic nerve sheath (p=0.005). Conclusion: B-mode ultrasound may be an important adjuvant tool for ophthalmological evaluation of these patients.