Scandinavian journal of rheumatology
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Scand. J. Rheumatol. · Nov 2020
Do magnetic resonance imaging-detected erosions predict progression to rheumatoid arthritis in patients presenting with clinically suspect arthralgia? A longitudinal study.
Objective: Radiographic joint erosions are a hallmark of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is more sensitive than radiographs in detecting erosions. It is unknown whether MRI-detected erosions are predictive for RA development in patients with clinically suspect arthralgia (CSA). ⋯ Within both subgroups, MRI erosions were not predictive. Conclusions: MRI-detected erosions in hands and feet were not predictive for inflammatory arthritis development. Therefore, evaluating MRI for erosions in addition to subclinical inflammation does not provide added clinical value in CSA.