INTER-OBSERVER AND INTER-METHOD AGREEMENT IN TWO- AND THREEDIMENSIONAL POWER DOPPLER ULTRASONOGRAPHY OF WRIST ARTHRITIS IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Purpose: Recently three-dimensional (3D) power Doppler ultrasonography (PDUS) has been introduced as additional tool for the visualization of increased peri- and intra-articular microvascular blood flow in active arthritis of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) [1]. We evaluated the inter-method agreement of conventional two-dimensional (2D) PDUS and 3D imaging and the inter-observer agreement of each method with regard to a semiquantitave estimation of synovial microvascular Doppler flow. Methods and Materials: In a longitudinal study, 22 ultrasound examinations of the wrist of 5 RA patients with different…