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The following is a summary of “Value of lung ultrasonography for screening interstitial lung disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis,” published in the March 2025 issue of Rheumatology by Ottaviani et al. 

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a common complication of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), usually diagnosed with high-resolution CT (HRCT). Lung ultrasonography (LUS) shows potential for RA-ILD screening. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to assess LUS for screening ILD in RA. 

They conducted an observational monocenter study on patients with RA. All underwent pulmonary and rheumatology evaluation, immunology screening, lung HRCT, LUS, and pulmonary function tests (PFTs). US assessment followed the 14-intercostal space protocol on the same day as HRCT. B-lines were classified as normal (≤5), mild (6–15), moderate (16–30), and severe (≥30). 

The results showed data from 101 patients with RA (69% women, mean age 44.7 ± 13.1 years). HRCT detected RA-ILD in 44 patients. ROC analysis set >5 B-lines as the threshold for RA-ILD (sensitivity 89%, specificity 93%). B-lines count correlated positively with the Warrick score (r = 0.836, P < 0.001) and negatively with PFTs (r = -0.649, P < 0.001). 

Investigators found LUS effective for screening RA-ILD using a short protocol. B-lines >5 showed good diagnostic performance and correlated with HRCT and PFT results. 

Source: academic.oup.com/rheumatology/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/rheumatology/keaf133/8051903