The paediatric foot: prevalence and differentiation of sonographic and podiatric findings in juvenile arthritis and healthy children.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to, first, determine the prevalence of ultrasound (US) findings and podiatric anomalies in the paediatric foot, and to compare these findings between healthy and asymptomatic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) subjects, and then to analyse the associations between US and podiatric findings. METHODS: Healthy children and asymptomatic JIA patients underwent US and podiatric assessments. Grey-scale (GS) findings and Doppler signal in the joint recess, the tendon sheath and the enthesis of paediatric feet were assessed as present or absent. The podiatry assessment included: Foot Posture Index (FPI), footprint, standing heel-rise test, mobility of first toe and the Jack test. RESULTS: Forty-six children had at least one US finding (25 of 54 healthy children and 20 of 28 asymptomatic JIA patients). GSUS findings at the first metatarsophalangeal joint recess and physiological vascularisation at several locations were the most frequently detected findings in both groups. GSUS findings at the tibiotalar and subtalar joints were only detected in the JIA group. In comparison to the healthy group, the JIA group showed a trend towards pronated foot with abnormal footprint. However, the tibiotalar synovitis was significantly associated with supinated FPI. CONCLUSIONS: Improving the knowledge of US findings in the paediatric foot is crucial to evaluate properly children with suspected inflammatory diseases. US, in addition to podiatric assessment, would enable paediatric rheumatologists to discriminate between normal physiological findings and pathological abnormalities in asymptomatic children having JIA. Further studies are needed to confirm it.

To what extent is foot pain related to biomechanical changes and ultrasound-detected abnormalities in rheumatoid arthritis?

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the presence of biomechanical abnormalities and ultrasound (US)-detected inflammation and damage in low disease or remission status rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with foot complaints. METHODS: We recruited 136 subjects with foot complaints. Sixty-two were biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug-treated RA patients presenting Disease Activity Score-determined remission or low disease activity while the remaining 74 were gender matched controls without rheumatic or musculoskeletal disorders. Both groups underwent a comprehensive podiatric, biomechanical and B-mode and Doppler US assessment of the feet. RESULTS: Most RA patients and controls were female (77.4% and 83.8%, respectively). There was no statistical difference in the proportion of obese subjects in either group (p=0.792). Inappropriate shoes were used by 50.0% of RA patients and 33.8% of controls (p=0.080). Talalgia, particularly heel pain, was more frequent in the control group, with associated talalgia and metatarsalgia being more prevalent in the RA group (p<0.05). The RA patient group was also more likely to present greater foot deformity, more limited joint movement and biomechanical abnormalities than the controls (p<0.05). US inflammatory and structural changes were significantly more frequent in RA patients than in controls (p<0.05). US structural involvement was significantly associated with limited joint mobility and pathologic biomechanical tests only in RA patients (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: RA foot complaints seemed to be linked to US-detected RA involvement and biomechanical abnormalities. Podiatric and US assessments can be useful to help the clinician to optimise the management of RA patients in remission/low disease activity with foot complaints.

The feet in systemic lupus erythematosus; are we underestimating their involvement and functional impact?

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate biomechanical and ultrasound (US) abnormalities in SLE patients as compared with controls and to assess the relationship between these abnormalities and SLE activity. METHODS: Fifty-four consecutive female patients with SLE with and without foot pain and 60 female controls (30 with foot pain and 30 without foot pain) were recruited. SLE activity was assessed by the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI). SLE patients and controls blindly underwent a comprehensive podiatric, biomechanical and US evaluation of the feet. US assessment included detection of B-mode synovitis, tenosynovitis, enthesopathy, bone changes and synovial, tenosynovial and entheseal power Doppler (PD) signal. RESULTS: Thirty-one (57.4%) SLE patients had bilateral foot pain and 5 (9.3%) had unilateral foot pain. Metatarsalgia was the most common location for pain but without significant difference between groups (p=0.284). Toe joint deformities were significantly more common in SLE feet as compared with control feet (p<0.0005). SLE feet showed significantly more biomechanical abnormalities than control feet (p<0.05). B-mode synovitis in the tibiotalar joint was strongly associated with having SLE (p<0.0005) and the presence of synovial PD signal in the MTP joints was found only in painful feet of SLE patients. SLEDAI was significantly higher in patients with foot pain than in those with painless feet (p=0.008). However, SLEDAI did not discriminate between patients with and without biomechanical or US abnormalities. CONCLUSIONS: SLE patients showed more biomechanical and US abnormalities in the feet than controls, which were not captured by standardised assessment of the disease activity.

Differences and Similarities in the Feet of Metatarsalgia Patients with and without Rheumatoid Arthritis in Remission.

Objectives: Metatarsalgia continues to be a problem in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in remission (remRA), as well as in the non-rheumatic population, with a mechanical origin. Identify and compare clinical, morphological, disability, synovitis (ultrasound), and radiological osteoarticular damage characteristics in two groups of patients with lesser-ray metar-tarsalgia, with remRA, and without RA. Methods: Cross-sectional study with 84 patients with remRA (mRA) and 60 patients without RA (nmRA). The study evaluated five clinical variables (pain, Foot Function Index (FFI), joint mobility, digital deformities, and foot type), a radiological variable (osteoarticular damage), and an ultrasound variable (metatarsal synovitis). The data were analysed using descriptive and correlational techniques. Results: There were no significant differences in sex, age, body mass index (BMI), or degree of pain. Both groups showed a high prevalence of limited joint mobility for the ankle and first metatarsal phalanx (DF1st MTPJ) and digital deformities, with no statistically significant differences. Similarly, there were no differences in lesser-ray synovitis. On the other hand, there were differences in mRA with greater disability and activity limitation (FFI), LDD (lesser-ray digital deformities) stiffness, first-ray deformities, radiological damage, synovitis in 1st MTPJ, and positive Doppler (five patients). Conclusions: Metatarsalgia presents similarities in both populations. Biomechanical factors may influence the symptoms and presence of synovitis in patients with RA in remission. Other characteristics are more frequent in mRA, which could be related to the disease; thus, future research should include both biomechanical and ultrasound exploration of the foot in the valuation of patients in remission.

Multidisciplinary approach in the treatment of tendinous foot involvement in rheumatoid arthritis.

INTRODUCTION: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis frequently consult for pain resulting from involvement of the tendons of the foot. This pain negatively affects foot biomechanics and quality of life. The most widely used treatment option for this condition is ultrasound-guided steroid injection, while other treatments were recommended such as heel pad, splints, and footwear. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate a joint intervention (rheumatology and podiatry) comprising an orthotic-podiatric treatment and infiltrations. We evaluated the response using ultrasound monitoring, a pain scale, functional tests, and assessment of patient satisfaction. METHODS: We performed a non-controlled blinded prospective interventional study of 96 patients with foot pain and selected those with ultrasound-confirmed tendon involvement. Patients enrolled started intervention treatment and were followed for 6 months. The outcome of the intervention was compared with the patient's baseline status. The pre-post differences in the secondary variables (pain, disability) were analyzed using the t test and contingency tables or the Mann-Whitney test. RESULTS: Using our protocol, we recorded a rapid and significant reduction in the intensity of pain, in the foot function index, and in the ultrasound parameters (grayscale and Doppler). Structural damage to the tendon improved more slowly, with significant outcomes only at the last visit with respect to baseline. Abnormal foot support was detected in 50% of patients, and 79.5% were using inappropriate footwear. CONCLUSIONS: Our multidisciplinary therapeutic protocol enabled a very significant improvement in tendon involvement. It was well-tolerated, with a high degree of satisfaction, and was easily evaluated using ultrasound. No changes in background medication were necessary. Key Points • Multidisciplinary evaluation of patients with RA is advisable because it improves the treatment management in cases of inflammatory activity and structural abnormalities of the foot. • Comprising orthopedic-podiatric treatment (heel, splints, and suitable footwear) and infiltrations, in terms of clinical, ultrasound, and functional recovery of the foot tendons. • The therapy protocol we propose led to a significant improvement in pain relief and functional recovery.

OMERACT agreement and reliability study of ultrasonographic elementary lesions in osteoarthritis of the foot.

Objective: To evaluate the level of agreement on ultrasonographic (US) lesions among highly experienced sonographers as well as the intraobserver and interobserver reliability of inflammatory and structural US lesions in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the foot. Methods: After a systematic literature review, a Delphi survey was performed to test definitions of US lesions in OA of the foot, including inflammatory lesions (ie, synovial hypertrophy [SH], joint effusion [JE], power Doppler signal [PD]), and structural abnormalities (ie, cartilage damage [CD] and osteophytes). Subsequently, the reliability of US in assessing the aforementioned lesions was tested on static images as well as during a live exercise. Reliability was assessed by kappa analyses and prevalence-adjusted bias-adjusted kappa (PABAK) on a dichotomous and an ordinal scale. Results: Intraobserver and interobserver reliability for SH and JE evaluated by binary scoring was good for both components, while the intraobserver reliability for semiquantitative scoring of SH ranged from moderate in the web-based exercise (PABAK 0.49) to good (PABAK 0.8) in the live exercise. Reliability for CD and PD assessments were respectively good and excellent in all exercises (ranged from PABAK 0.61 to 0.79 for CD and 0.88 to 0.95 for PD). The interobserver reliability for the semiquantitative scoring of osteophytes was fair in the live exercise (PABAK 0.36) and moderate in the static exercise (PABAK 0.60). Conclusions: Consensual US definitions were found to be reliable for assessing inflammatory lesions in OA of the foot, while the use of US to assess structural damage requires further studies.

Personalized orthoses as a good treatment option for Charcot neuro-osteoarthropathy of the foot.

BACKGROUND: We sought to assess the biomechanical characteristics of the feet of patients with Charcot neuro-osteoarthropathy and to determine reulceration rates before and after personalized conservative orthotic treatment. METHODS: A longitudinal prospective study was performed in 35 patients with Charcot's foot. Although some patients had a history of ulcers, at the study outset no patient had ulcers. All of the patients underwent biomechanical testing and a radiographic study. A radiophotopodogram was prepared by superimposing an imprint of the sole on a plantar radiograph. Based on the results of these tests, an orthopedic insole was prepared and therapeutic footwear prescribed for each foot. The following variables were compared between the Charcot and unaffected feet: previous ulcers and ulcer sites, reulcerations produced after treatment, type of foot (neuropathic/neuroischemic), ankle mobility, first-ray mobility, and relaxed calcaneal stance position. Treatment efficacy was determined by comparing ulcers presenting in patients in the year leading up to the study period and the year in which treatment was received. RESULTS: In a 1-year period, 70 feet received orthotic treatment, of which 41 were Charcot's feet. Ulceration rates before the study were 73.2% in feet with Charcot's and 31.0% in those without. After 1 year of wearing the customized orthoses, rates fell significantly to 9.8% in the Charcot feet and 0% in the feet without this condition. CONCLUSIONS: Conservative customized orthotic treatment was effective at preventing ulcers and the complications that often lead these patients to surgery.

A GOOD TREATMENT OPTION FOR PATIENTS WITH CHARCOT OSTEOARTHROPATHY OF THE FOOT.

Abstract BACKGROUND: METHODS: RESULTS: CONCLUSIONS: