Sonographic evaluation of the tendons in familial Mediterranean fever and Behçet's disease.
OBJECTIVE
There have been some studies on the burden of certain rheumatological disorders on the tendons; however, patients with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) and Behçet's disease (BD) have not, up to now, been studied in this regard in the literature. Thus, this current study centers on ensuing changes in the tendons of these patients.


METHODS
The study comprised 32 patients with FMF (13 male, 19 female), 31 with BD (18 male, 13 female) and 35 control subjects (17 male, 18 female). Sonographical evaluations were performed from the triceps, quadriceps and Achilles tendons on the non-dominant extremities of the individuals using a linear array probe of 8-16 MHz.


RESULTS
The mean triceps tendon (TT) thickness value of FMF patients was greater than that of BD patients (P=0.03) or the controls' (P=0.02). The mean quadriceps tendon (QT) thickness value of BD patients was greater than that of FMF patients (P=0.00) or the controls' (P=0.01). The mean Achilles tendon (AT) thickness value of BD patients was greater than that of controls' (P=0.05) only. There was not any difference between the tendon thickness measurements of either group of patients with and without arthritic involvement.


CONCLUSIONS
Our first and preliminary findings pertaining to increased tendon thicknesses in FMF (TT) and BD (QT and AT) patients should be complemented with future histological and clinical studies. The functional relevance of tendon thickening, its probable reflection on the rupture risk and the role of each disease related contributing factor remain to be uncovered.
Ozçakar
Levent
L
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Hacettepe University Medical School, Ankara, Turkey. lozcakar@yahoo.com
Onat
Ahmet Mesut
AM
Ureten
Kemal
K
Cetin
Alp
A
Kiraz
Sedat
S
Ertenli
Ihsan
I
Calgüneri
Meral
M
Akinci
Ayşen
A
D000125:Achilles Tendon / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000328:Adult; D000843:Ankle Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D001168:Arthritis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D001528:Behcet Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology; D004551:Elbow Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D010505:Familial Mediterranean Fever / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D052097:Quadriceps Muscle / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D012307:Risk Factors; D012422:Rupture, Spontaneous / Q000453:epidemiology; D052256:Tendinopathy / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D014463:Ultrasonography