To help optimise clinical management, EULAR has drafted new recommendations for the use of imaging in diagnosis and management of CiA. A special taskforce – made up of rheumatologists, radiologists, methodologists, healthcare professionals, and patient research partners – collected evidence from four systematic literature reviews.
The new work, published in the February issue of the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases includes five overarching principles and 10 recommendations. The principles stress that CiA are can be characterised by intermittent, acute episodes of inflammation – but they can also follow a chronic disease course with or without flares. Imaging provides useful information on crystal deposition, inflammation, and structural damage. However, abnormalities on imaging may not be related to clinical symptoms, and patient information including medical history, laboratory results, and physical examination are always the most relevant to be taken into account. Finally, imaging in CiA should be performed and interpreted by trained healthcare professionals.
Source
Mandl P, et al. 2023 EULAR recommendations on imaging in diagnosis and management of crystal-induced arthropathies in clinical practice. Ann Rheum Dis 2024; doi:10.1136/ard-2023-224771.
09/02/2024 European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology, EULAR
