[The value of sonography and power Doppler in the detection of early arthritis].

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of small joints of the hands and feetis still "the gold standard" in detecting early inflammatory changes in the patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Radiographic assessment has only limited value in early diagnostic of RA. The limited accessibility of MRI makes both ultrasound (US) and Power Doppler (PD) of small joints of hands and feet equally useful tools as they give the same results as MRI in evaluating some of the pathologies such as: bone erosions, intraarticular effusions and changes of tendons. Power Doppler can detect subclinically synovitis of the small joints in the early phase of RA. Nowdays, in the field of rheumatology we talk about US and PD as "a rheumatologist's prolonged finger" or as " a rheumatological stetoscope", exactly because of their accessibility and possibility of getting quick and useful information about the patient himself. Since US and PD are inexpensive and non-invasive procedures, they can greatly improve diagnostics in RA and especially the assessment of the early phase of the inflammatory diseases, which can serve as a reliable indicator of the overal progression of the disease. Some new data show possibility of monitoring patients with RA and their response on disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) or biologicals by US and PD.