In a recent study, researchers evaluated the entheseal fibrocartilage (EF) at the Achilles tendon insertion in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) using power Doppler ultrasound (PDUS). The study also assessed the reliability of EF thickness evaluation, compared EF thickness among PsA patients, athletes, and healthy controls (HCs), and evaluated correlations between EF abnormalities, disease activity, and functional indices in PsA.
The study included 30 PsA patients, 40 athletes, and 20 HCs. The median EF thickness was slightly higher in patients with PsA compared with HCs. However, no correlations were found between EF abnormalities and disease activity indices in PsA patients. The study concluded that EF assessment is a feasible and reliable test that could potentially serve as an imaging biomarker in evaluating PDUS abnormalities in patients with PsA.
Reference: Perrotta FM, Ronga M, Scriffignano S, Lubrano E. Ultrasonographic Evaluation of Entheseal Fibrocartilage in Patients with Psoriatic Arthritis, Athletes and Healthy Controls: A Comparison Study. Diagnostics (Basel). 2023;13(8):1446. doi:10.3390/diagnostics13081446
