%0 Journal Article
%T A simple, clinically usable whole-body MRI system of joint assessment in adolescents and young people with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
%A Choida V
%A Bray TJP
%A van Vucht N
%A Abbasi MA
%A Bainbridge AP
%A Parry T
%A Sen D
%A Mallett S
%A Ciurtin C
%A Hall-Craggs MA
%J Rheumatology (Oxford)
%V 0
%N 0
%D 2024 Feb 29
%M 38426363
%F 7.046
%R 10.1093/rheumatology/keae117
%X OBJECTIVE: To introduce and evaluate a simple method for assessing joint inflammation and structural damage on whole-body MRI (WBMRI) in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), which is usable in clinical practice.
METHODS: The proposed system utilises post-contrast Dixon WBMRI scans. Joints are assessed for synovitis (grade 0-2) and structural damage (present/absent) at 81 sites. The synovitis grading is based on features including above-normal intensity synovial enhancement, synovial hypertrophy, joint effusion, subarticular bone marrow oedema and peri-articular soft tissue oedema.This system was evaluated in a prospective study of 60 young people (47 patients with JIA and 13 controls with non-inflammatory musculoskeletal pain) who underwent a WBMRI. Three readers (blinded to diagnosis) independently reviewed all images and re-reviewed 20 individual scans. The intra- and inter-reader overall agreement (OA) and the intra- and inter-reader Gwet's agreement coefficients 2 (GAC2) were measured for the detection of a) participants with ≥1 joint with inflammation or structural damage and b) joint inflammation or structural damage for each joint.
RESULTS: The inter-reader OA for detecting patients with ≥1 joint with inflammation, defined as grade 2 synovitis (G2), and ≥1 joint with structural damage were 80% and 73%, respectively. The intra-reader OA for readers 1-3 were 80-90% and 75-90% respectively. The inter-reader OA and GAC2 for joint inflammation (G2) at each joint were both ≥85% for all joints but were lower if grade 1 synovitis was included as positive.
CONCLUSIONS: The intra- and inter-reader agreements of this WBMRI assessment system are adequate for assessing objective joint inflammation and damage in JIA.