Ultrasound-Guided Synovial Biopsy: A Review

Abstract

Ultrasound-guided synovial biopsy is a safe, well-tolerated, and effective method to collect good-quality synovial tissue from all types of joints for clinical and research purposes. Although synovial biopsy cannot be used to distinguish between types of inflammatory rheumatic disease, analysis of synovial tissue has led to remarkable advances in the understanding of the pathobiology of rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory rheumatic diseases. Synovitis is the hallmark of these diseases; hence, accessing the core of the pathological process, synovial tissue, provides an opportunity to gather information with potential diagnostic and prognostic utility.

The Importance of Ultrasound-Guided Synovial Biopsy in the Workup of Seronegative Inflammatory Arthritis: A Case Report

“…It can be used to access large, medium, and small joints, which is beneficial in the workup of patients with seronegative RA symptoms [8]. Compared to blind-needle and fluoroscopy-guided biopsies, UGSB is more precise and has a higher success rate [9]. Overall, the precision and safety of UGSB should make it a first-line diagnostic tool in patients with features of seronegative RA.…”

Molecular maps of synovial cells in inflammatory arthritis using an optimized synovial tissue dissociation protocol

“…We obtained synovial tissue by ultrasound-guided synovial biopsy using a Quick core 18G x 6cm or a Quick Core 16G 10cm semi-automatic, guillotine-type biopsy needles and a General Electric® Logiq S7 ultrasound machine (GE Healthcare, Boston, Massachusetts, USA). 76 , 77 Joints were evaluated for synovitis, before biopsy, using a GE Logiq S7 ultrasound machine equipped with a broad-spectrum linear array hockey-stick L8-18i transducer and a broad-spectrum linear matrix array ML6-15 transducer or a Canon® Aplio i800 ultrasound machine (Canon Medical Systems Corporation, Tochigi, Japan), with a multi-frequency ultra-wideband linear i18LX5 transducer and a 22 MHz ultra-high frequency hockey stick i22LH8 transducer. All joints were scanned according to the EULAR Ultrasound Scanning Guide.…”

Lipidomic Profiling in Synovial Tissue

“…Synovial tissue can be obtained by arthroscopy or with ultrasound guidance. The latter are minimally invasive procedures that can be performed by rheumatologists in the outpatient clinic, are safe and associated with a low risk of side effects (14). So far, most of the efforts have focused on the characterization of synovial tissue in RA and the information provided by the analysis of the tissue is highly relevant.…”