A new bed side test for inflammatory arthritis.

Abstract

E-mail: sabasamreen@hotmail.com. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7320-4739 Inflammatory arthritis is characterized by pain, swelling and early morning stiffness in the affected joints. This group of arthritis have the propensity to lead to erosions and joint damage.[1] The resulting joint damage and functional disability not only leads to morbidity but adds to the burden on health care infrastructure. This is an area of particular concern especially in developing countries where the health care facilities and budget is scarce.[2] There are several tools to detect synovitis. Out of these magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has a fair sensitivity and specificity but cost hampers it is regular use in daily practice especially in developing countries. Similarly musculoskeletal ultrasound also picks up synovitis early in the disease with acceptable sensitivity and specificity[3] but it is not yet commonly available in all setups. Therefore, we need to maximally rely on examination skills especially in developing countries. Timely diagnosis of synovitis and prompt initiation of treatment[4] is the key to better patient related outcomes.