title: Magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasonography, and conventional radiography in the assessment of bone erosions in juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), conventional radiography, and ultrasonography in identifying bone erosions in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), and to determine the validity and reliability of an MRI scale in detecting and grading joint damage.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 26 JIA patients, the clinically more affected wrist was studied with MRI, radiography, and ultrasonography, coupled with standard clinical assessment and biochemical analysis. MR images were assessed independently by 2 readers according to an apposite devised scoring system.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 26 patients, 25 (96.1%) had 1 or more erosions as detected by MRI, whereas conventional radiography and ultrasonography revealed erosions in 13 (50%) of 26 and 12 (50%) of 24 patients, respectively. The ability of MRI to detect erosive changes was significantly higher with respect to conventional radiography (P = 0.002 with Bonferroni correction [P(B)]) and ultrasonography (P(B) = 0.0002) in the group of patients with <3 years' disease duration. Ultrasonography and conventional radiography were of equivalent value for the detection of destructive changes. Wrist MRI score correlated highly with radiographic erosion score (r(s) = 0.82) and with wrist limited range of motion score (r(s) = 0.69). The interreader intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for MRI score was excellent (0.97); intrareader ICCs were good for both investigators (0.97 and 0.79).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MRI seems to be a powerful tool to detect early structural damage in JIA. The proposed MRI scale for bone erosions appears promising in terms of reliability and construct validity. The pathophysiologic meaning and the prognostic value of bone erosions revealed only by MRI remain to be established in longitudinal studies.
authors.affiliation: Istituto G. Gaslini, Genoa, Italy. claramalattia@ospedale-gaslini.ge.it
authors.forename: Clara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Malattia
authors.forename: Maria Beatrice
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Damasio
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Magnaguagno
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pistorio
authors.forename: Maura
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Valle
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Martinoli
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Viola
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Buoncompagni
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Loy
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ravelli
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tomà
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martini
mesh_terms: D001171:Arthritis, Juvenile / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D011859:Radiography; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014955:Wrist Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging