Joint Cartilage Damage Evaluated by Ultrasound in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Takehisa Ogura¹, Ayako Hirata², Yuki Inoue², Takaharu Katagiri², Yuto Takakura² and Hideto Kameda³, ¹Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Toho University, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan, ²Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Toho University, Tokyo, Japan, ³Toho University, Tokyo, Japan

Meeting: ACR Convergence 2020

Keywords: cartilage, Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Ultrasound

Session Information

Date: Monday, November 9, 2020

Title: Imaging of Rheumatic Diseases Poster

Session Type: Poster Session D

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

Background/Purpose: Arthritis in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is typically non-erosive, although some patients with SLE show erosive destruction or Jaccoud’s arthropathy. Previously we have confirmed the usefulness of the direct imaging of finger joint cartilage by ultrasound (US) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. In this study, we aimed to examine cartilage lesions in patients with SLE by US.

Methods: We enrolled 44 SLE patients with an episode of joint symptoms and 42 healthy subjects. The cartilage thickness of bilateral metacarpophalangeal (MCP) and proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joints of the 2nd to 5th fingers were visualized from a dorsal view with joints in approximately 90 degrees flexion and measured at the middle portion. Furthermore, one US examiner performed the semiquantitative scoring of the recorded cartilage images in a blinded manner on a scale of 0–2. Continuous variables from the two groups were analyzed using the Mann–Whitney U test. The relationships among the continuous variables were assessed using the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient.

Results: Female predominance, height and weight were similar between the two groups, although patients with SLE were younger than healthy subjects. The total cartilage thickness of 16 joints tended to be decreased in SLE patients as compared with healthy control (the median 7.0 versus 7.5, p=0.057; and 4.1 versus 4.4 in MCP joints and 2.9 versus 3.0 in PIP joints, respectively). The cartilage thickness of MCP joints was significantly correlated with that of PIP joints (rho=0.40, p=0.007), and the cartilage thickness of MCP/PIP was independent of patients’ age, height and disease duration. The total semi-quantitative score of 16 joints was comparable between patients with SLE and healthy subjects (the median 4.0 versus 4.0, p=0.395; and 2.0 versus 2.0 in MCP joints and 2.0 versus 2.0 in PIP joints, respectively).

Conclusion: The evaluation of finger joint cartilage damage by US is valid and the cartilage damage is limited in most of the patients with SLE.

Disclosure: T. Ogura, None; A. Hirata, None; Y. Inoue, None; T. Katagiri, None; Y. Takakura, None; H. Kameda, Abbvie, 1, 2, 3, Asahi-Kasei, 2, 5, 8, Chugai, 1, 2, Eisai, 2, Mitsubishi-Tanabe, 1, 2, Novartis, 1, 2, 3, Eli Lilly, 1, 2, Janssen, 1, 2, Sanofi, 5, 8, UCB, 1, Pfizer, 1, Astellas Pharma Inc., 2, 5, 8, Gilead Sciences, 5, 8, Bristol-Myers Squibb, 8.

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

Ogura T, Hirata A, Inoue Y, Katagiri T, Takakura Y, Kameda H. Joint Cartilage Damage Evaluated by Ultrasound in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2020; 72 (suppl 10). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/joint-cartilage-damage-evaluated-by-ultrasound-in-patients-with-systemic-lupus-erythematosus/. Accessed .

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