Application of musculoskeletal ultrasound in enthesitis of spondyloarthritis

Kim , Hyun ok; Kim , Hyun ok

Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Gyeongsang National University School of Medicine and Gyeongsang National University Changwon Hospital , Jinju, Korea

Address for Correspondence:

Hyun ok Kim ,Tel: 0552142280, Fax: 0552143280, Email: galleonok@hanmail.net

Received: 11 April 2020; Accepted: 9 May 2020. Published online: 9 May 2020.

ABSTRACT

Spondyloarthritis (SpA) consists of ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis, enteropathy-related spondylitis and arthritis, and undifferentiated SpA. It is accompanied by inflammatory back pain and joint symptoms such as oligoarthritis, dactilitis, and enthesitis, which usually occur in the lower extremities. Among these symptoms, enthesitis is an important clinical symptom of SpA because early diagnosis and treatment of enthesitis may improve prognosis. Therefore, it is important to objectively evaluate treatment response of enthesitis. Recently, semi-quantitative ultrasonographic evaluation has been used for this purpose by using B-mode images and power Doppler technique. In this article, I describe the role and application of ultrasonography in the enthesitis of SpA.

Keywords: Ultrasonography; Enthesopathy; Spondyloarthritis