Clinical Significance of Wrist Joint Synovial Blood-Flow Signals on Doppler Ultrasonography in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

「ABSTRACT」The clinical significance of power Doppler ultrasonography signal scores of synovial blood flow in the wrist joint was investigated in 40 patients with rheumatoid arthritis meeting the diagnostic criteria established by the American College of Rheumatology. Synovial blood-flow signals of the wrist joint were given scores according to Neuman's method. The sum of the bilateral wrist signal scores was regarded as the total wrist signal score. The blood-flow score in each wrist and the total score in both wrists were significantly correlated with serum levels of C-reactive protein and the 28-Joint Disease Activity Score-C-reactive protein index. This study suggests that blood-flow signals in the wrist joint reflect the systemic activity of rheumatoid arthritis.