Musculoskeletal Ultrasound is the only safe imaging technique that is performed in the office and that provides the image of the joint in real time, in motion and, moreover, is very well accepted by the patient. This ultrasound facilitates a good understanding of the anatomoclinical alteration through the morphological information of the peri- and intra-articular structures that it provides in B-mode or gray scale.
Doppler mode detects and quantifies vascular flow in real time. In inflammatory processes, the presence of Doppler signal represents pathological vascular flow indicating inflammatory activity. MS, like MRI, adds a new clinical concept called subclinical alteration in Rheumatology.
A subclinical alteration is defined as an inflammatory and/or structural morphologic abnormality that does not cause clinical signs or symptoms at a given time. The detection of subclinical morphological alterations may have potential classificatory, diagnostic, therapeutic or prognostic value. In practice, MS aids diagnostic and therapeutic decision making by informing clinical, laboratory and radiological measures. In addition, it provides information on early anatomical changes, aggressiveness of the inflammatory process, disease activity and therapeutic response. In addition, it facilitates the performance of all types of intra- and periarticular punctures.
MS provides real-time imaging of the joint.
Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Applications
- Regional pain syndromes
- Shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand, hip, knee and ankle/foot
- Morphological diagnosis
- Injury severity assessment
- Help in therapeutic decision making
- Arthrosis
- Early diagnosis of articular cartilage alterations / osteophytes
- Detection of joint inflammation
- Differential diagnosis in symptomatic peripheral joints
- Microcrystalline arthropathy (Gout)
- Diagnosis when detecting intra- and periarticular microcrystalline deposits
- Detection of joint inflammation
- Monitoring of therapeutic response in Gout
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Identification of synovitis in patients with arthralgias and diagnostic suspicion of rheumatoid arthritis or other inflammatory arthritis.
- Differential diagnosis between rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory arthritis.
- Differential diagnosis in symptomatic peripheral joints.
- Assessment of inflammatory activity and joint structural damage in early arthritis and during its evolution.
- Monitoring of therapeutic response.
- Detection of subclinical inflammatory activity and subradiological structural damage in patient in clinical remission.
- Spondyloarthritis / Psoriatic Arthritis
- Detection of subclinical peripheral enthesitis.
- Early diagnosis
- Differential diagnosis between psoriatic arthritis and other inflammatory arthropathies
- Differential diagnosis in symptomatic peripheral joints.
- Monitoring of therapeutic response
- Systemic autoimmune diseases
- Detection of subclinical joint and periarticular inflammation.
- Evaluation of cutaneous involvement in systemic sclerosis
- Evaluation of salivary glands in Sjögren’s syndrome
- Assessment of muscle inflammation in inflammatory myositis
- Vasculitis
- Diagnosis in giant cell arteritis
- Puncture guidance
- Intra-lesional infiltration
- Arthrocentesis
- Nerve blocks
- Biopsies
- Cardiovascular risk assessment
- Rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthritis, Gout