Utility of magnetic resonance imaging in diagnosis and monitoring enthesitis in patients with spondyloarthritis: An OMERACT systematic literature review

Abstract

Objective. A systematic literature review was performed to document published magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) lesion definitions and scoring systems for enthesitis in spondyloarthritis (SpA). Methods. PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched for original publications involving adult patients with SpA undergoing MRI of axial/peripheral joints. Selected articles were assessed for quality using a standardized assessment tool and metric indices. Results. Considering the heterogeneous design, quality, and outcome measures of studies, statistical data pooling was considered inappropriate. A qualitative narrative of results was undertaken based on study designs. Conclusion. Lack of a comprehensive, validated score warrants additional research to develop an MRI enthesitis scoring system.