Subtle Radiographic Progression at Six Months Can Be Detected Using Automated Quantitative Software in Rheumatoid Arthritis While Receiving Tocilizumab

Taichi Okino; Yafei Ou; Masayuki Ikebe; Akira Furusaki; Akira Sagawa; Masaru Kato; Tatsuya Atsumi; Kenneth Sutherland; Tamotsu Kamishima

doi:10.1093/mr/roae047

Subtle Radiographic Progression at Six Months Can Be Detected Using Automated Quantitative Software in Rheumatoid Arthritis While Receiving Tocilizumab

Mod Rheumatol. 2024 May 16:roae047. doi: 10.1093/mr/roae047. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Taichi Okino¹, Yafei Ou², Masayuki Ikebe², Akira Furusaki³, Akira Sagawa³, Masaru Kato⁴, Tatsuya Atsumi⁴, Kenneth Sutherland⁵, Tamotsu Kamishima⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiological Technology, Sapporo City General Hospital, Hokkaido, Japan.
² Research Center for Integrated Quantum Electronics, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan.
³ Sagawa Akira Rheumatology Clinic, Hokkaido, Japan.
⁴ Department of Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Nephrology, Graduate School of Medicine and Faculty of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan.
⁵ Global Center for Biomedical Science and Engineering, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan.
⁶ Faculty of Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan.

PMID: 38753311
DOI: 10.1093/mr/roae047

Abstract

Objectives: We investigated whether our in-house software equipped with partial image phase-only correlation (PIPOC) can detect subtle radiographic joint space narrowing (JSN) progression at six months and predict JSN progression in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients receiving Tocilizumab.

Methods: The study included 39 RA patients who were treated with Tocilizumab. Radiological progression of the metacarpophalangeal and the proximal interphalangeal joints was evaluated according to the Genant-modified Sharp score (GSS) at 0, 6, and 12 months. Automatic measurements were performed with the software. We validated the software in terms of accuracy in detecting the JSN progression.

Results: The success rate of the software for joint space width (JSW) measurement was 96.8% (449/464). The 0-12-month JSW change by the software was significantly greater in joints with the 0-6-month PIPOC (+) group than the 0-6-month PIPOC (-) group (p < 0.001). The 0-12-month JSW change by the software was 0-12-month GSS (+) than with 0-12-month GSS (-) (p = 0.02). Here, "(+)" indicates the JSN progression during the follow-up period. Meanwhile, "(-)" indicates no JSN progression during the follow-up period. Linear regression tests showed significant correlations between the 0-6-month and the 0-12-month PIPOC in the left 2nd and 3rd MCP joints (R2 = 0.554 and 0.420, respectively).

Conclusions: Our in-house software equipped with PIPOC could predict subsequent JSN progression with only short-term observations.

Keywords: Finger joint; joint space narrowing; radiography; rheumatoid arthritis; software.

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