Imaging remission by musculoskeletal ultrasound leads to a better functional outcome – results of the us 7-score implementation study in early rheumatoid arthritis

Background: Novel treatment options together with a treat-to-target strategy present new challenges to imaging procedures in terms of therapy monitoring. Objectives: To evaluate the functional outcome measured by Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) as the primary outcome in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who were treated by standard clinical care (clinical cohort) in comparison to patients in whom treatment decisions were additionally based on musculoskeletal ultrasound (US) using the US7 score (US-cohort) in a nationwide investigator initiated study in Germany. Methods: Functional (HAQ), clinic…