Fw: [StillsNet] Radiologic Signs of Joint Healing Can Be Accurately Identified in RA Patients

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[stillsNet] Radiologic Signs of Joint Healing Can Be Accurately

Identified in RA Patients

Radiologic Signs of Joint Healing Can Be Accurately Identified in RA

Patients

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Jan 07 - In rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients

followed for many years, signs of joint healing can be accurately identified

on standard radiographs, according to a recent report by German

investigators.

Emphasis is often placed on radiologic signs of disease progression in RA

patients, and the ability to identify disease improvement is expected to

become increasingly important as new rapidly acting antirheumatic drugs

become available. In the current study, Dr. R. Rau, from Evangelisches

Fachkrankenhaus in Ratingen, and colleagues wanted to determine if

radiologic signs of RA joint healing could be identified by different

observers in a blinded fashion.

Three physicians reviewed 24 sets of joint radiographs with healing

phenomena and 10 with progressive disease without healing, taken 2 to 8

years apart. The films were read in pairs in random order. Signs of healing

included reappearance of the cortical plate, filling in of an erosion, and

subchondral bone sclerosis with osteophyte formation.

Of 1292 joints assessed, 74 demonstrated evidence of healing. On average,

these joints were identified 89% of the time by the three physicians. All

physicians correctly identified joints without signs of healing, the authors

state in the December issue of the Journal of Rheumatology.

Radiologic signs of healing can be observed in RA patients followed for

several years. " These phenomena can be identified by different observers

with high sensitivity even when the observers are blinded to chronological

sequence of the films, " the researchers conclude.

J Rheumatol 2001;28:2608-2615.

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