Diagnostic imaging of inflammation in the axial skeleton (Sacroiliitis)

Involvement of the sacroiliac joints is a hallmark of the spondyloarthropat hies, especially in ankylosing spondylitis. The conventional diagnostic ima ging of sacroiliitis in early stages might cause problems, because sensitiv ity of conventional radiographic methods is known to be too low in early st ages of the disease. Magnetic resonance imaging of the sacroiliac joints ce rtainly enables one to detect acute as well as chronic inflammatory changes in all stages of the disease. The potential disadvantages of this method a re the dependency on the examiner, the lack of standardization, and the rel atively high costs. Therefore, the "Workgroup of Diagnostic Imaging in Rheu matology of the Regional Center of Rheumatology of Berlin" including experi enced rheumatologists, skeletal radiologists, and orthopedists acquired an imaging graduation for detection of sacroiliitis in consideration of the cl inical background, the technical details of the methods, questions of ioniz ing radiation exposure, and cost effectiveness.