Development and Validation of the OMERACT Rheumatoid Arthritis Magnetic Resonance Tenosynovitis Scoring System in a
Daniel Glinatsi1,2, Paul Bird3,4, Frédérique Gandjbakhch3,4
1From the Copenhagen Center for Arthritis Research (COPECARE), Center for Rheumatology and Spine Diseases, Rigshospitalet, Glostrup; Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine, University of Leeds; UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Leeds Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit; Leeds Teaching Hospitals National Health Service (NHS) Trust, Leeds, UK; University of New South Wales (NSW), Sydney, Australia; Hôpital Pitié-Salpétrière, APHP, Université Paris VI, Paris, France; Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway; Spire Sciences Inc., Boca Raton, Florida, USA. daniel.glinatsi@gmail.com.
Objective:
To develop and validate a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tenosynovitis (TS) score for tendons at the wrist and metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Methods:
Axial T1-weighted precontrast and postcontrast fat-saturated MR image sets of the hands of 43 patients with RA initiating rituximab therapy were obtained at baseline and after 14, 26, 38, or 52 weeks. The MR images were scored twice by 4 readers. Nine tendon compartments of the wrist and 4 flexor tendon compartments at the MCP joints were assessed. Tenosynovitis was scored as follows: 0: No; 1: < 1.5 mm; 2: ≥ 1.5 mm but < 3 mm; 3: ≥ 3 mm peritendinous effusion and/or postcontrast enhancement. Intrareader and interreader intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), smallest detectable change (SDC), percentage of exact and close agreement (PEA/PCA), and standardized response mean (SRM) were calculated.
Results:
Intrareader and interreader ICC for status and change scores were very good (≥ 0.80) for total scores for all readers. Intrareader SDC was ≤ 3.0 and interreader SDC was < 2.0. The overall PEA/PCA intrareader and interreader agreements for change scores in all tendons were 73.8%/97.6% and 47.9%/85.0%, respectively. Average SRM was moderate for total scores and 60.5% of the patients had a tenosynovitis change score ≥ SDC.
Conclusion:
The TS score showed high intrareader and interreader agreement for wrist and finger tendons, with moderate responsiveness, and the majority of the patients showed a change above the SDC. This scoring system may be included as a component of the RAMRIS.
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