Publication details

Musculoskeletal ultrasonography in routine rheumatology practice: data from Central and Eastern European countries

Authors

MANDL Peter BARANAUSKAITE Asta DAMJANOV Nemanja HOJNIK Maja KURUCZ Reka NAGY Orsolya NĚMEC Petr NIEDERMAYER Dora PERIĆ Porin PETRANOVA Tzvetanka PILLE Andres REDNIC Simona VLAD Violeta ZLNAY Martin BALINT Peter V.

Year of publication 2016
Type Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source Rheumatology International
MU Faculty or unit

Faculty of Medicine

Citation
Doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00296-016-3442-2
Field Other specializations of internal medicine
Keywords Ultrasonography; Musculoskeletal; Central-Eastern Europe; Clinical practice; Education
Description The main aim was to gain structured insight into the use of musculoskeletal ultrasonography (MSUS) in routine rheumatology practices in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. In a cross-sectional, observational, international, multicenter survey, a questionnaire was sent to investigational sites in CEE countries. Data on all subsequent routine MSUS examinations, site characteristics, MSUS equipment, and investigators were collected over 6 months or up to 100 examinations per center. A total of 95 physicians at 44 sites in 9 countries provided information on a total of 2810 MSUS examinations. The most frequent diagnoses were rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and spondyloarthritis (34.8 and 14.9 % of cases, respectively). Mean number of joints examined was 6.8. MSUS was most frequently performed for diagnostic purposes (58 %), particularly in patients with undifferentiated arthritis, suspected soft tissue disorders, or osteoarthritis (73.0-85.3 %). In RA patients, 56.3 % of examinations were conducted to monitor disease activity. Nearly all investigations (99 %) had clinical implications, while the results of 78.6 % of examinations (51.6-99.0 %) were deemed useful for patient education. This first standardized multicountry survey performed in CEEs provided a structured documentation of the routine MSUS use in participating countries. The majority of MSUS examinations were performed for diagnostic purposes, whereas one-third was conducted to monitor disease activity in RA. A majority of examinations had an impact on clinical decision making and were also found to be useful for patient education.

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