MRI-Detected Inflammation Is Associated with Functional Disability in Early Arthritis – Results of a Cross-Sectional Study

Leonie E Burgers¹, Wouter P Nieuwenhuis¹, Hanna W van Steenbergen¹, Elize C Newsum¹, Tom WJ Huizinga¹, Monique Reijnierse², Saskia le Cessie³ and Annette HM van der Helm-van Mil¹, ¹Department of Rheumatology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands, ²Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands, ³Medical statistics and Epidemiology, Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands

Meeting: 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting

Date of first publication: September 28, 2016

Keywords: arthritis and functional status, Early Rheumatoid Arthritis, Health Assessment Questionnaire, MRI

Session Information

Date: Monday, November 14, 2016

Title: Imaging of Rheumatic Diseases - Poster II: XR/CT/PET/MRI

Session Type: ACR Poster Session B

Session Time: 9:00AM-11:00AM

Background/Purpose: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sensitively detects inflammation, but the clinical relevance of MRI-detected inflammation is undetermined in early arthritis. Therefore, this cross-sectional study investigated the association between MRI-detected inflammation of hands and feet and functional disability in early arthritis.

Methods: 514 early arthritis patients, consecutively included in the Leiden Early Arthritis Clinic, were studied. At baseline, unilateral 1.5T MRI of the wrist, metacarpophalangeal (MCP) and metatarsophalangeal-joints was made and functional disability was measured using the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ). MRIs were scored for tenosynovitis, synovitis and bone marrow oedema (BME) by two readers. The sum of these types of MRI-inflammation yielded the total MRI-inflammation score. Linear and non-linear regression analyses were performed with HAQ as outcome.

Results: The total MRI-inflammation score was associated with the HAQ-score (β=0.014, p<0.001), as were tenosynovitis (β=0.046, p<0.001), synovitis (β=0.039, p<0.001) and BME-scores (β=0.015, p<0.001) separately. Analysing these three types of MRI-inflammation in one multivariable model, revealed that only tenosynovitis was independently associated with HAQ-score (β=0.039, p<0.001). Also when correcting for age, gender, joint counts, C-reactive protein and auto-antibodies, this association remained significant (β=0.034, p<0.001). MRI-detected inflammation at wrists or MCP-joints associated significantly with impairments in hand functioning (e.g. difficulties with opening milk cartons or jars). Exploring the relation between MRI-detected inflammation and HAQ-scores, suggested the presence of a ceiling effect, because after a certain inflammation-level, more inflammation was not associated with higher HAQ-scores.

Conclusion: MRI-detected inflammation, and tenosynovitis in particular, is associated with functional disability in early arthritis. This demonstrates the functional relevance of MRI-detected inflammation in early arthritis.

Disclosure: L. E. Burgers, None; W. P. Nieuwenhuis, None; H. W. van Steenbergen, None; E. C. Newsum, None; T. W. Huizinga, None; M. Reijnierse, None; S. le Cessie, None; A. H. van der Helm-van Mil, None.

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

Burgers LE, Nieuwenhuis WP, van Steenbergen HW, Newsum EC, Huizinga TW, Reijnierse M, le Cessie S, van der Helm-van Mil AH. MRI-Detected Inflammation Is Associated with Functional Disability in Early Arthritis – Results of a Cross-Sectional Study [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2016; 68 (suppl 10). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/mri-detected-inflammation-is-associated-with-functional-disability-in-early-arthritis-results-of-a-cross-sectional-study/. Accessed .

« Back to 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting

ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/mri-detected-inflammation-is-associated-with-functional-disability-in-early-arthritis-results-of-a-cross-sectional-study/