Thoracic Ultrasound

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that can affect various organs, including the lungs, and lead to rheumatoid arthritis-interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD). RA-ILD is responsible for increased mortality in rheumatoid arthristis (RA) patients. The prevalence of RA-ILD varies according to the screening tool used. The current gold standard is chest CT, but this is an expensive, time-consuming and irradiating examination, and recommendations on when and how often it should be performed are not clearly established. Lung ultrasound (LUS) is an emerging tool for the detection of lung parenchymal damage, particularly in systemic scleroderma and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). LUS is a non-irradiating, non-expensive examination that can be performed rapidly. The aim of our study is to evaluate LUS as a screening tool for RA-ILD, in patients with risk factors for developing RA-ILD.