EVALUATION OF SYNOVIAL MICROVASCULARITY IN EARLY VERSUS LONGSTANDING RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS BY MEANS OF TWO- AND THREEDIMENSIONAL POWER DOPPLER ULTRASONOGRAPHY

Purpose: Two-(2D) and threedimensional (3D) power Doppler ultrasound (PDUS) is able to reproduce intraarticular synovial blood vessel formation in inflamed joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis[1]. The goal of this study was to evaluate potential differences of synovial microvascularity in early versus longstanding rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) by means of 2D and 3D PDUS. Methods and Materials: 12 patients with active arthritis of the wrist with different duration of clinical symptoms (6 with early non-treated RA 4 years) were investigated by ultrasound using a HDI 5000 ultrasound system (ATL, Philips, Bothel…