Assessment of Shoulder Pain in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients by using High Resolution Musculoskeletal Ultrasound

Abstract

heumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder that primarily affects the synovial joints, resulting in deformed and painful joints. The disease may also have signs and symptoms in organs other than the joints. Shoulder pain is one of the most common complaints encountered in patients with RA. Shoulder pain in RA arises from pathologies involving diverse articular and periarticular soft tissues, and the involvement of more than one anatomical structure is common. The present study was designed to evaluate the role of US in the detection of the shoulder abnormalities in RA patients with shoulder pain and to correlate them with clinical and laboratory parameters of the disease.