The First Clinical Medical School of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
Beijing Rehabilitation Hospital, Capital Medical University Gongliao Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing, 100144, China.
Clin Rheumatol. 2024 Nov;43(11):3293-3300. doi: 10.1007/s10067-024-07119-8. Epub 2024 Sep 12.
Detection of synovitis is essential for assessing the activity and predicting the prognosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic performance of superb microvascular imaging (SMI) in RA patients with high, moderate, and low activity.
One hundred four patients with active RA were selected from the hospital between May 2022 and August 2023. The study observed the correlation between bone erosion of the carpal joint, joint cavity effusion, thickness of synovial hyperplasia of the carpal joint, positivity rate of synovial blood vessels, and their semiquantitative scores with the clinical disease activity of RA using SMI examination.
The detection of synovial hyperplasia thickness and joint effusion in the high-activity group was higher than that in the low-activity group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The quantitative SMI test demonstrated that the synovial blood flow grading and semiquantitative grade increased gradually with activity level (P<0.05). During the high, moderate, and low-activity groups, the vascular index (VI) value of the hyperplastic synovial membrane decreased gradually, showing statistical significance both between and within the groups (P<0.05).
SMI technology exhibited high sensitivity and accuracy in assessing disease activity in RA. It holds significant clinical application value as a reliable auxiliary tool for assessing disease activity in RA and treatment. Key Points • Super micro-vascular imaging (SMI) demonstrated higher detection rates of microvessels in RA patients with high disease activity compared to those with low activity, showing statistical significance. • The quantitative SMI test revealed a clear correlation between synovial blood flow grading and disease activity levels in RA patients, highlighting the potential of SMI as a valuable tool for disease activity and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
滑膜炎的检测对于评估类风湿关节炎（RA）的活动度和预测预后至关重要。本研究旨在探讨超级微血管成像（SMI）在高、中、低活动度 RA 患者中的诊断性能。
2022 年 5 月至 2023 年 8 月期间，从医院选择 104 例活动期 RA 患者。本研究观察了腕关节骨侵蚀、关节腔积液、腕关节滑膜增生厚度、滑膜血管阳性率及其 SMI 检查与 RA 临床疾病活动度的相关性。
高活动组滑膜增生厚度和关节积液的检出率高于低活动组，差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）。定量 SMI 检测显示，滑膜血流分级和半定量分级随活动水平逐渐升高（P<0.05）。在高、中、低活动组，增生滑膜的血管指数（VI）值逐渐降低，组间和组内均有统计学意义（P<0.05）。
SMI 技术在评估 RA 疾病活动度方面具有较高的灵敏度和准确性。作为评估 RA 疾病活动度和治疗的可靠辅助工具，具有重要的临床应用价值。
• 超级微血管成像（SMI）在高疾病活动度的 RA 患者中检测到更高的微血管率，具有统计学意义。
• 定量 SMI 检测显示 RA 患者滑膜血流分级与疾病活动度之间存在明确相关性，突出了 SMI 作为评估疾病活动度和治疗类风湿关节炎的有价值工具的潜力。
