title: Musculoskeletal ultrasonography in routine rheumatology practice: data from Central and Eastern European countries.
abstract: The main aim was to gain structured insight into the use of musculoskeletal ultrasonography (MSUS) in routine rheumatology practices in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. In a cross-sectional, observational, international, multicenter survey, a questionnaire was sent to investigational sites in CEE countries. Data on all subsequent routine MSUS examinations, site characteristics, MSUS equipment, and investigators were collected over 6 months or up to 100 examinations per center. A total of 95 physicians at 44 sites in 9 countries provided information on a total of 2810 MSUS examinations. The most frequent diagnoses were rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and spondyloarthritis (34.8 and 14.9 % of cases, respectively). Mean number of joints examined was 6.8. MSUS was most frequently performed for diagnostic purposes (58 %), particularly in patients with undifferentiated arthritis, suspected soft tissue disorders, or osteoarthritis (73.0-85.3 %). In RA patients, 56.3 % of examinations were conducted to monitor disease activity. Nearly all investigations (99 %) had clinical implications, while the results of 78.6 % of examinations (51.6-99.0 %) were deemed useful for patient education. This first standardized multicountry survey performed in CEEs provided a structured documentation of the routine MSUS use in participating countries. The majority of MSUS examinations were performed for diagnostic purposes, whereas one-third was conducted to monitor disease activity in RA. A majority of examinations had an impact on clinical decision making and were also found to be useful for patient education.
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, 3rd Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, 18-20 Währinger Gürtel, Vienna, Austria. peter.mandl@meduniwien.ac.at.|3rd Department of Rheumatology, National Institute of Rheumatology and Physiotherapy, Budapest, Hungary. peter.mandl@meduniwien.ac.at.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mandl
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.
authors.forename: Asta
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baranauskaite
authors.affiliation: Institute of Rheumatology, University of Belgrade School of Medicine, Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Nemanja
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Damjanov
authors.affiliation: Global Medical Affairs Rheumatology, AbbVie, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Maja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hojnik
authors.affiliation: 3rd Department of Rheumatology, National Institute of Rheumatology and Physiotherapy, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Reka
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kurucz
authors.affiliation: AbbVie Ltd., Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Orsolya
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Nagy
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, St. Anne's University Hospital, Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Petr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nemec
authors.affiliation: 3rd Department of Rheumatology, National Institute of Rheumatology and Physiotherapy, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Dora
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Niedermayer
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Clinical Hospital Center Zagreb, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Porin
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Perić
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, UMHAT St.Iv.Rilsky, Medical University, Sofia, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: Tzvetanka
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Petranova
authors.affiliation: East-Tallinn Central Hospital, Tallinn, Estonia.
authors.forename: Andres
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pille
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Clinical County Emergency Hospital, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rednic
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Sf. Maria Clinical Hospital, Bucharest, Romania.
authors.forename: Violeta
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vlad
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, National Institute of Rheumatic Diseases, Piestany, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zlnay
authors.affiliation: 3rd Department of Rheumatology, National Institute of Rheumatology and Physiotherapy, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Peter V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Balint
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005061:Europe, Eastern / Q000453:epidemiology; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D009141:Musculoskeletal System / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000639:trends*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012216:Rheumatic Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy; D012219:Rheumatology / Q000639:trends*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*
keywords: Central-Eastern Europe; Clinical practice; Education; Musculoskeletal; Ultrasonography