The role of diagnostic ultrasound of hands and feet in the patients with rheumatoid arthritis
Authors:
Porin Perić
Summary
In the past decade diagnostic musculoskeletal ultrasound (US) has revolutionized the approach of treating the patients with inflammatory rheumatic conditions. Th ere is still need for further efforts in establishing the US as a standard tool in everyday rheumatologic practice. Appropriate
education and training is essential to standardize the method. Main limitation of the method is the lack of time for performing US examination because the US is time consuming. Concerns regarding the validity and reproducibility are being addressed. Nowadays in rheumatology, potential in using US lies in its possibility for early and accurate diagnosis of arthritis, monitoring of the disease and conduction of US-lead interventions in rheumatology.