ACR Meeting Abstracts

ACR Meeting Abstracts

  • Meetings
    • ACR Convergence 2024
    • ACR Convergence 2023
    • 2023 ACR/ARP PRSYM
    • ACR Convergence 2022
    • ACR Convergence 2021
    • ACR Convergence 2020
    • 2020 ACR/ARP PRSYM
    • 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting
    • 2018-2009 Meetings
    • Download Abstracts
  • Keyword Index
  • Advanced Search
  • Your Favorites
    • Favorites
    • Login
    • View and print all favorites
    • Clear all your favorites
  • ACR Meetings

Abstract Number: 2987

Value of Color Doppler Ultrasound Assessment of Sacroiliac Joints in Patients with    Inflammatory Chronic Low Back Pain

Maximiliano Bravo1, Leandro Ferreyra Garrott1, David A. Navarta2, Emmanuel Bertiller1, Ricardo Garcia-Monaco3, Santiago Ruta1, Javier Rosa4 and Enrique Soriano1, 1Rheumatology Unit, Internal Medical Services, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2Internal Medicine, Rheumatology Unit, Internal Medical Services, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 3Radiology and Imagenology Department, Hospital italiano de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 4Rheumatology Unit, Internal Medicine Service, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Meeting: 2014 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting

Keywords: spondylarthropathy and ultrasound

  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
Session Information

Title: Spondyloarthropathies and Psoriatic Arthritis VI - Imaging and Biomarkers

Session Type: Abstract Submissions (ACR)

Background/Purpose: The utility of ultrasound in the evaluation of sacroiliitishas not been extensively studied yet.  To evaluate the diagnostic value of color Doppler ultrasound (US) for the detection of sacroiliac (SI) active inflammatory lesions in patients with inflammatory chronic low back pain (LBP).

Methods:

Consecutive patients  older than 18 years, with chronic inflammatory low back pain, defined as LBP with more than 3 months of continuous duration, of insidious onset, with improvement with exercise, no improvement with rest, and pain at night (with improvement upon getting up), without a definitive diagnosis (patients at risk of having undetected spondyloarthritis (SpA)), referred from orthopedics or general practitioners clinics for an axial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), were included. Patients with Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) according to modified New York criteria, were included as control group.Clinical assessment included BASDAI, BASFI, and HAQ. Ultrasound evaluation was performed by a blinded rheumatologist experienced in this technique with a My lab 70 machine (Esaote) with a multi-frequency convex array transducer (1-8 MHz). Standardized scanning method was used to investigate increased local perfusion with color Doppler US. When color Doppler signal was found in or around the SI joints, spectral Doppler was used and the resistive index (RI) was measured. Color Doppler US sacroiliitis was defined as a positive color Doppler signal with a RI <0.75 at any of the SI joints.

The following sequences were used on the MRI assessment: T1-weighted spinecho (SE) and short-tau inversion recovery (STIR). MRI sacroiliitis was defined according to ASAS definition of active sacroiliac inflammatory lesions.

Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values for the diagnosis of sacroiliitisbycolor Doppler US features was calculated, using MRI as the gold standard.

Results:

Forty-four patients were included. Twenty-four (54%) were males.  Mean age was: 40 years (SD: 11 yrs).  Median disease duration was 2 years (IQR: 0.5-10 yrs). Mean BASDAI was 4.8 (SD: 2.4), mean BASFI: 3.6 (SD: 2.7), and mean HAQ was 0.6 (SD: 0.5).Ten patients had AS. Among all patients, 21 (48%) had active sacroiliitis by MRI. Active sacroiliitis by MRI was present in 4 (40%) of AS patients, and in 17 (50%) of patients with inflammatory LBP, respectively.

Color Doppler US sensitivity for the diagnosis of sacroiliitis among all patients was 62 % (95% CI: 48-76%) and specificity was 91%. (95% CI: 83-99.6%). Positive predictive value (PPV) was 87% (95% CI: 77-97%) and negative predictive value (NPV) was: 72% (95% CI: 59-86%). Among AS patients observed values were: sensitivity 75% (95% CI:48-100%), specificity 83% (95% CI : 60-99), PPV: 75% (95% CI:48-100%) and NPV: 83% (95% CI: 60-99%) and among inflammatory LBP patients diagnostic test values were: sensitivity 59 % (95% CI:42-75%), specificity: 94% (95% CI:86-100%), PPV: 91% (95% CI;81-100%) and NPV: 70% (95% CI: 54-89%).

Conclusion: color Doppler US seems to be a practical and useful tool for the diagnosis of active sacroiliitis. Larger studies would be needed to confirm these results.


Disclosure:

M. Bravo,

UCB,

2;

L. Ferreyra Garrott,

UCB,

2;

D. A. Navarta,

UCB,

2;

E. Bertiller,

UCB,

2;

R. Garcia-Monaco,

UCB,

2;

S. Ruta,

UCB,

2;

J. Rosa,

UCB,

2;

E. Soriano,

UCB,

2.

  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

« Back to 2014 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting

ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/value-of-color-doppler-ultrasound-assessment-of-sacroiliac-joints-in-patients-with-inflammatory-chronic-low-back-pain/

Advanced Search

Your Favorites

You can save and print a list of your favorite abstracts during your browser session by clicking the “Favorite” button at the bottom of any abstract. View your favorites »

All abstracts accepted to ACR Convergence are under media embargo once the ACR has notified presenters of their abstract’s acceptance. They may be presented at other meetings or published as manuscripts after this time but should not be discussed in non-scholarly venues or outlets. The following embargo policies are strictly enforced by the ACR.

Accepted abstracts are made available to the public online in advance of the meeting and are published in a special online supplement of our scientific journal, Arthritis & Rheumatology. Information contained in those abstracts may not be released until the abstracts appear online. In an exception to the media embargo, academic institutions, private organizations, and companies with products whose value may be influenced by information contained in an abstract may issue a press release to coincide with the availability of an ACR abstract on the ACR website. However, the ACR continues to require that information that goes beyond that contained in the abstract (e.g., discussion of the abstract done as part of editorial news coverage) is under media embargo until 10:00 AM ET on November 14, 2024. Journalists with access to embargoed information cannot release articles or editorial news coverage before this time. Editorial news coverage is considered original articles/videos developed by employed journalists to report facts, commentary, and subject matter expert quotes in a narrative form using a variety of sources (e.g., research, announcements, press releases, events, etc.).

Violation of this policy may result in the abstract being withdrawn from the meeting and other measures deemed appropriate. Authors are responsible for notifying colleagues, institutions, communications firms, and all other stakeholders related to the development or promotion of the abstract about this policy. If you have questions about the ACR abstract embargo policy, please contact ACR abstracts staff at [email protected].

Wiley

  • Online Journal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Permissions Policies
  • Cookie Preferences

© Copyright 2025 American College of Rheumatology