Ultrasonography supplements clinical exam to improve early rheumatoid arthritis disease activity monitoring in metatarsophalangeal joints

Introduction Compared with clinical examination (CE), ultrasonography (US) provides additional and more accurate assessment of inflammation and visualization of structural damage. To better understand the effectiveness of US in metatarsophalangeal joints (MTPJs), we compared disease activity in MTPJs 2–5 assessed by CE and US, with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as reference standard.