title: Measurement of structural abnormalities in arthritis using radiographic images.
abstract: This article reviewed the current methods for scoring radiographic abnormalities in RA with emphasis on reliability. There is disagreement on the expected course of RA with usual treatment and there is no clear resolution of this disagreement although several factors that contribute to this disagreement have been identified. Scoring joint damage has been effective in establishing benefit from drug treatment for nine agents, five within the last 3 years. Scoring will continue to be used to examine the benefit of new agents in the immediate years to come. A panel of experienced readers agreed that some repair of erosion damage was seen with available treatment. The extent of damage that is reversible has not been established and the frequency of any degree of repair remains unknown. Several methods of true measurement of erosions and joint space width have been reported. They have not found a place in daily practice or in research studies, probably because experience is too limited to know whether they are more powerful in detecting real progression of disease than scoring methods. Several problems that are related to standardizing methods of measuring joint space width were identified.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, 1959 Northeast Pacific Street, Seattle, WA 98195-6428, USA. johntsharp@worldnet.att.net
authors.forename: John T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Sharp
mesh_terms: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy; D001175:Arthrography; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D018849:Controlled Clinical Trials as Topic; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005385:Fingers / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008662:Metacarpophalangeal Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012106:Research; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents