UltraSound Evaluation For mUsculoskeletal Lupus (USEFUL)

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  A prospective observational study to investigate the validity of ultrasound as an outcome measure in assessing response to therapy in Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)

• IRAS ID

  186251

• Contact name

  Ed Vital

• Contact email

  david.d'cruz@kcl.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University of Leeds

• Duration of Study in the UK

  2 years, 0 months, days

• Research summary

  Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) may cause inflammation of tendons and joints, this leads to pain and disability and often patients report poor quality of life. Although they may experience pain in their joints, sometimes doctors are unable to see any abnormality such as swelling on clinical examination, this is because the pain might be non-inflammatory or may be even another type of musculoskeletal pain such as osteoarthritis or fibromyalgia resulting in very similar symptoms and signs. This makes measurement of musculoskeletal disease activity in SLE more difficult.

  There is therefore a challenge to identify patients whose pain is due to SLE inflammation. This makes it difficult for the doctors to decide who should be treated with immunosuppressant or steroid (commonly used medicines in SLE) versus those with other causes, in whom such treatments are unlikely to help as well as tell how well they are working. We have studied a few patients with SLE and joint pain and found that ultrasound scans gave more information than a normal examination.

  In this study we will look at patients with SLE who are being treated with a steroid injection (common treatment). Patients will have an ultrasound scan of their joints before the treatment as well as a careful examination. These tests will then be repeated 2 and 4 weeks after the treatment. We are going to do the study in several hospitals that are experienced in treating lupus and using ultrasound.

  We hope to achieve two aims with this study, to provide doctors with the evidence they need to give patients the right treatment and to help assess which treatments work the best for lupus. Clinical trials of new treatments might be performed more quickly and accurately if we have a more sensitive tool to measure the effects of treatment.

• REC name

  North West - Greater Manchester Central Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  16/NW/0060

• Date of REC Opinion

  7 Mar 2016

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion