The assessment of inflammatory and structural lesions of the Achilles tendon by ultrasound imaging in inflammatory arthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Results Thirteen high to medium quality studies met the inclusion criteria. The majority of studies reported on US lesions in spondyloarthropathy (SpA), with limited evidence for other forms of IA. US lesions were not consistently defined with regard to Outcome Measures in Rheumatology Clinical Trials (OMERACT) definitions and numerous scoring systems were used across the majority of studies. The mean AT thickness at the enthesis in people with SpA was 0.54 mm thicker (95% CI 0.10 to 0.97 mm) with more frequent erosions in people with SpA (odds ratio (95%CI)) (7.43 (1.99 27.77), P = 0.003) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (odds ratio (95%CI) (9.60 (1.23 74.94), P = 0.03), compared to controls. There was no significant difference in the frequency of enthesophyte formation in people with SpA compared to controls (odds ratio (95%CI) (2.48 (0.64 9.70), P = 0.19).