Session Information
Date: Monday, October 22, 2018
Session Title: Miscellaneous Rheumatic and Inflammatory Diseases Poster II: Interstitial Lung Disease, Still's Disease, FMF, Polychondritis
Session Type: ACR Poster Session B
Session Time: 9:00AM-11:00AM
Background/Purpose: Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is a rare systemic inflammatory disorder, and the diagnosis and treatment evaluation are often difficult. Therefore, the discovery of more convenient imaging modality than contrast-CT, MRI and FDG-PET/CT would be required on diagnosis and treatment.To assess the clinical utility of ultrasonography (US) in diagnosing and monitoring disease activity of relapsing polychondritis (RP).
Methods: Auricular and nasal chondritis of patients with RP (n=6) were initially assessed by US before and after treatments. Secondly, the changes of US findings and serum inflammatory markers were compared in RP. Finally, the auricular and nasal US findings between patients with RP (n=6), repeated trauma (n=6) which finding is similar to RP, and healthy subjects (n=6) were examined comparatively.
Results: In all cases of RP, US finding before treatment showed low-echoic swollen auricular and nasal cartilage with increased power Doppler signals (PDS), corresponding to biopsy findings. After treatment with prednisolone (PSL) combined with methotrexate, the swollen ear and nose completely resolved. Then, swollen cartilage on US also dramatically reduced with the decrease of PDS. When serum inflammatory markers completely improved, but PDS remained in 2 of 6 cases, and these cases showed flare due to early PSL tapering. Finally, the cartilage of RP on US could be apparently differentiated from repeated trauma and healthy subject due to thickness of cartilage, PDS and subperichondrial serous effusion.
Conclusion: Assessment of RP lesions by US possibly facilitates evaluation of cartilaginous lesions and monitoring of disease activity, especially when we consider the treatment response and the timing of drug tapering.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Inotani S, Taniguchi Y. Clinical Utility of Ultrasonography (US) in Diagnosing and Monitoring Disease Activity of Relapsing Polychondritis (RP) and Comparison of Cartilaginous US Findings between RP, Repeated Trauma and Healthy Subjects [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2018; 70 (suppl 10). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/clinical-utility-of-ultrasonography-us-in-diagnosing-and-monitoring-disease-activity-of-relapsing-polychondritis-rp-and-comparison-of-cartilaginous-us-findings-between-rp-repeated-trauma-and-heal/. Accessed January 20, 2020.« Back to 2018 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting
ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/clinical-utility-of-ultrasonography-us-in-diagnosing-and-monitoring-disease-activity-of-relapsing-polychondritis-rp-and-comparison-of-cartilaginous-us-findings-between-rp-repeated-trauma-and-heal/