title: Radiological evaluation of cervical spine involvement in rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: Cervical spine involvement commonly occurs in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), especially those with inadequate treatment or severe disease forms. The most common site affected by RA is the atlantoaxial joint, potentially resulting in atlantoaxial instability, with cervical pain and neurological deficits. The second most common site of involvement is the subaxial cervical spine, often with subluxation, resulting in nerve root or spinal cord compression. In this paper, the authors review the most commonly used plain radiographic criteria to diagnose cervical instabilities seen with RA. Finally, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of cervical CT and MRI in the setting of cervical involvement in RA.
authors.affiliation: Departments of 1 Neurology and.
authors.forename: Andrei F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Joaquim
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ghizoni
authors.forename: Helder
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tedeschi
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Appenzeller
authors.forename: K Daniel
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Riew
mesh_terms: D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001268:Atlanto-Axial Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D007593:Joint Instability / Q000209:etiology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
keywords: AAS = atlantoaxial subluxation; ADI = atlantodental interval; RA = rheumatoid arthritis; SAS = subaxial subluxation; radiological evaluation; rheumatoid arthritis; upper cervical