Transition phase towards psoriatic arthritis: clinical and ultrasonographic characterisation of psoriatic arthralgia

ObjectiveNon-specific musculoskeletal pain is common in subjects destined to develop psoriatic arthritis (PsA). We evaluated psoriatic patients with arthralgia (PsOAr) compared with psoriasis alone (PsO) and healthy controls (HCs) using ultrasonography (US) to investigate the anatomical basis for joint symptoms in PsOAr and the link between these imaging findings and subsequent PsA transition.MethodsA cross-sectional prevalence analysis of clinical and US abnormalities (including inflammatory and structural lesions) in PsOAr (n=61), PsO (n=57) and HCs (n=57) was performed, with subsequent prospective follow-up for PsA development.ResultsTenosynovitis was the only significant sonographic feature that differed between PsOAr and PsO (29.5% vs 5.3%, p