Prognostic significance of optic nerve sheath diameter on computed tomography scan with severity of blunt traumatic brain injury in the emergency department.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study was to evaluate a simplified version of the Rheumatoid Arthritis Magnetic Resonance Imaging Score (RAMRIS) reduced to five joints of the hand (RAMRIS5).

METHODS

94 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (62 female; age 59±12 years, range 25-83 years; disease duration 60±90 months (median: 22 months, first quartile: 7 months, third quartile: 66 months) from the REMISSION PLUS study cohort who had complete files on C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and Disease Activity Score of 28 joints (DAS28) and complete MRI of the clinical dominant hand at baseline and after one year under anti-rheumatic therapy (follow-up time 12.5±1.1 months) in a dedicated extremity MRI scanner at 0.2T were included in this retrospective study.

RESULTS

There was a strong correlation between RAMRIS5 and the RAMRIS sum-score for all patients (r=0.87, p<0.001) at baseline and follow-up (r=0.87, p<0.001). Among the subscores there was a significant correlation between RAMRIS5 and RAMRIS-MCP (baseline: r=0.66, p<0.001; follow-up: r=0.74, p<0.001) as well as between RAMRIS5 and RAMRIS-wrist (baseline: r=0.72, p<0.001, follow-up: r=0.69, p<0.001) at baseline and follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

RAMRIS5, a modified shorter RAMRIS score based on five joints of the hand is a viable tool for semi-quantitative assessment of joint damage in RA. This abbreviated score might reduce the time needed for image analysis in MRI-controlled studies in RA and might facilitate the use of MRI in studies on therapy response assessment in RA.