Description
Ultrasound (US) is a quick and valuable technique for evaluating soft tissue involvement in rheumatic diseases. It should be performed when it is expected to add valuable information to clinical history and physical examination of rheumatic patients. US can detect several anatomical abnormalities including joint space widening, fluid collections, synovial hypertrophy, cartilage defects, bone erosion, calcifications, irregularity of tendon margins, loss of the normal fibrillar echotexture, tendon tear, and tendon sheath widening.
US should precede and guide local injection therapy whenever possible, especially in anatomic areas at risk of potential damage by the sharp point of the needle. Future developments will focus on multiplanar techniques, higher- frequency, multi-frequency transducers, methods for the reconstruction of three-dimensional images, colour- Doppler, and power-Doppler.
