Abstract：
While ultrasound and MRI are both superior to clinical examination in the detection of joint inflammation, there is presently a lack of data whether thermography may be similarly useful in the assessment of joint inflammation in patients with RA. Our study aims to evaluate the use of thermography in detecting subclinical joint inflammation at clinically quiescent (non-tender and non-swollen) metacarpophalangeal joints (MCPJs) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The outcomes from thermography in our study will be compared with ultrasonography (which is a more established imaging tool used for joint inflammation assessment in RA).
The minimum (Tmin), average (Tavg) and maximum (Tmax) temperatures at the 10 MCPJs of each patient were summed to obtain the Total Tmin, Total Tavg and Total Tmax, respectively. Ultrasound grey-scale (GS) and power Doppler (PD) joint inflammation (scored semi-quantitatively, 0-3) at the 10 MCPJs were summed up to derive the respective TGS and TPD scores per patient. Pearson\'s correlation and simple linear regression were respectively used to assess correlation and characterize relationships between thermographic parameters (Total Tmin, Total Tavg and Total Tmax) and ultrasound imaging parameters (TGS, TPD and the number of joint(s) with PD ≥ 1 or GS ≥ 2).
In this cross-sectional study, 420 clinically non-swollen and non-tender MCPJs from 42 RA patients were examined. All thermographic parameters (Total Tmin, Total Tavg and Total Tmax) correlated significantly (P-values ranging from 0.001 to 0.0012) with TGS score (correlation coefficient ranging from 0.421 to 0.430), TPD score (correlation coefficient ranging from 0.383 to 0.424), and the number of joint(s) with PD ≥ 1 or GS ≥ 2 (correlation coefficient ranging from 0.447 to 0.465). Similarly, simple linear regression demonstrated a statistically significant relationship (P-values ranging from 0.001 to 0.005) between all thermographic parameters (Total Tmin, Total Tavg and Total Tmax) and ultrasound imaging parameters (TPD and TGS).
For the first time, thermographic temperatures were shown to correlate with ultrasound-detected joint inflammation at clinically quiescent MCPJs. The use of thermography in the detection of subclinical joint inflammation in RA appears promising and warrants further investigation.
The minimum (Tmin), average (Tavg) and maximum (Tmax) temperatures at the 10 MCPJs of each patient were summed to obtain the Total Tmin, Total Tavg and Total Tmax, respectively. Ultrasound grey-scale (GS) and power Doppler (PD) joint inflammation (scored semi-quantitatively, 0-3) at the 10 MCPJs were summed up to derive the respective TGS and TPD scores per patient. Pearson\'s correlation and simple linear regression were respectively used to assess correlation and characterize relationships between thermographic parameters (Total Tmin, Total Tavg and Total Tmax) and ultrasound imaging parameters (TGS, TPD and the number of joint(s) with PD ≥ 1 or GS ≥ 2).
In this cross-sectional study, 420 clinically non-swollen and non-tender MCPJs from 42 RA patients were examined. All thermographic parameters (Total Tmin, Total Tavg and Total Tmax) correlated significantly (P-values ranging from 0.001 to 0.0012) with TGS score (correlation coefficient ranging from 0.421 to 0.430), TPD score (correlation coefficient ranging from 0.383 to 0.424), and the number of joint(s) with PD ≥ 1 or GS ≥ 2 (correlation coefficient ranging from 0.447 to 0.465). Similarly, simple linear regression demonstrated a statistically significant relationship (P-values ranging from 0.001 to 0.005) between all thermographic parameters (Total Tmin, Total Tavg and Total Tmax) and ultrasound imaging parameters (TPD and TGS).
For the first time, thermographic temperatures were shown to correlate with ultrasound-detected joint inflammation at clinically quiescent MCPJs. The use of thermography in the detection of subclinical joint inflammation in RA appears promising and warrants further investigation.
摘要：
背景：虽然超声和MRI在检测关节炎症方面均优于临床检查，目前缺乏热成像技术在评估RA患者关节炎症方面是否同样有用的数据.我们的研究旨在评估热成像在检测类风湿关节炎（RA）患者临床静止（非压痛和非肿胀）掌指关节（MCPJs）的亚临床关节炎症中的应用。我们研究中热成像的结果将与超声检查（超声检查是用于RA关节炎症评估的更成熟的成像工具）进行比较。
方法：最小值（Tmin），对每位患者的10个MCPJ的平均(Tavg)和最大(Tmax)温度进行求和以获得总Tmin,总Tavg和总Tmax,分别。超声灰阶（GS）和能量多普勒（PD）关节炎症（半定量评分，0-3）在10个MCPJ处进行求和，以得出每位患者各自的TGS和TPD评分。分别使用皮尔逊相关性和简单线性回归来评估热像参数之间的相关性和表征关系(TotalTmin，总Tavg和总Tmax）和超声成像参数（TGS，TPD和PD≥1或GS≥2的关节数)。
结果：在这项横断面研究中，对42例RA患者的420例临床上无肿胀和无触痛的MCPJs进行了检查。所有热成像参数(TotalTmin,总Tavg和总Tmax）与TGS评分（相关系数为0.421至0.430）显着相关（P值在0.001至0.0012之间），TPD评分（相关系数从0.383到0.424），以及PD≥1或GS≥2的关节数（相关系数为0.447至0.465）。同样，简单线性回归表明，所有热成像参数（总Tmin，总Tavg和总Tmax)和超声成像参数(TPD和TGS)。
结论：第一次，在临床静止的MCPJ中，热成像温度显示与超声检测到的关节炎症相关。热成像在RA亚临床关节炎症检测中的应用似乎很有前景，值得进一步研究。
方法：最小值（Tmin），对每位患者的10个MCPJ的平均(Tavg)和最大(Tmax)温度进行求和以获得总Tmin,总Tavg和总Tmax,分别。超声灰阶（GS）和能量多普勒（PD）关节炎症（半定量评分，0-3）在10个MCPJ处进行求和，以得出每位患者各自的TGS和TPD评分。分别使用皮尔逊相关性和简单线性回归来评估热像参数之间的相关性和表征关系(TotalTmin，总Tavg和总Tmax）和超声成像参数（TGS，TPD和PD≥1或GS≥2的关节数)。
结果：在这项横断面研究中，对42例RA患者的420例临床上无肿胀和无触痛的MCPJs进行了检查。所有热成像参数(TotalTmin,总Tavg和总Tmax）与TGS评分（相关系数为0.421至0.430）显着相关（P值在0.001至0.0012之间），TPD评分（相关系数从0.383到0.424），以及PD≥1或GS≥2的关节数（相关系数为0.447至0.465）。同样，简单线性回归表明，所有热成像参数（总Tmin，总Tavg和总Tmax)和超声成像参数(TPD和TGS)。
结论：第一次，在临床静止的MCPJ中，热成像温度显示与超声检测到的关节炎症相关。热成像在RA亚临床关节炎症检测中的应用似乎很有前景，值得进一步研究。
