title: Conventional x-ray in early arthritis.
abstract: This article reviews radiographic data from six cohorts of patients with early inflammatory arthritis. Of the patients, 8% to 15% had erosive disease at the first encounter with the rheumatologist. Classic scoring methods were applied to quantify damage, but baseline damage was low in early inflammatory arthritis. Yearly progression in damage score was assessed only in patients with high suspicion of rheumatoid arthritis at baseline or who had a final diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis at follow-up and varied between 0.5% and 1.7% of the maximal damage of the scoring method per year. The large number of patients with zero values for erosions and lower progression rates will influence sample sizes in clinical trials in early inflammatory arthritis when including radiographic change as an outcome.
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Maastricht Care and Public Health Research Institute, University Maastricht, P. Debyelaan 25, PO Box 5800, 6202 AZ Maastricht, The Netherlands. aboo@sint.azm.nl
authors.forename: Annelies
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boonen
authors.forename: Désirée
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: van der Heijde
mesh_terms: D001168:Arthritis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001175:Arthrography; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D006801:Humans