Ultrasonography Greatly Improves the Ability of Clinicians to Diagnose Psoriatic Arthritis

摘要

Approximately 7%-42% of patients with psoriasis, a chronic autoimmune skin condition, suffer from a complication known as psoriatic arthritis. The large deviation in the reported prevalence of psoriatic arthritis is largely due to the difference in diagnostic methodology used by clinicians. Conventionally, arthritis has been diagnosed using a physical examination, which is limited by the practitioner's sense of touch. The physical examination has low sensitivity and often underestimates the prevalence of arthritis. Currently, the diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis is primarily made using the ClASsification criteria for Psoriatic ARthritis (CASPAR) criteria. The CASPAR