Ultrasound and Shear Wave Elastography Assessment of Entheses in Psoriatic Arthritis

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory disease that frequently involves the entheses, where tendons, ligaments, and fascia insert into bone. Early detection of enthesitis is important for disease assessment and management. Conventional musculoskeletal ultrasonography, including grayscale and Power Doppler ultrasonography, can identify structural and inflammatory changes, while shear wave elastography (SWE) provides quantitative information about tissue stiffness. This observational cross-sectional study aims to evaluate bilateral enthesis sites using grayscale ultrasonography, Power Doppler ultrasonography, and SWE in patients with PsA and age- and sex-matched healthy controls. The study will investigate the relationship between imaging findings and clinical disease characteristics, disease activity, functional status, and laboratory parameters. The findings may improve understanding of enthesis involvement in PsA and clarify the potential role of multimodal ultrasound assessment, including SWE, in disease evaluation.