Fairchild R, Horomanski A, Sharpless L, et al. - In this study, the prevalence and clinical associations of ultrasound (US) findings of inflammatory arthritis and joint and soft tissue pathology in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) were explored. Researchers assessed hands and wrists of 43 SSc patients and 35 age-balanced controls by clinical exam and the musculoskeletal US. Semi-quantitative Gray Scale (GS) and Power Doppler scoring were used to assessing synovial and tenosynovial pathology. It was shown that less than 20% of SSc patients met the criteria for inflammatory arthritis in the US, despite a high percentage of tender and swollen joints. According to the data, the high concordance of osteophytes with GS synovial hypertrophy and tender joints imply that osteophytosis may be a significant contributor to joint pain in SSc patients.