Radiological and clinical evaluation of the arthritic foot

Abstract

The most common sites of involvement by inflammatory diseases are the foot and ankle. The involvement may develop in the foot joints earlier than in the hand joints. Foot deformities also may occur in these patients, and this deformities severely affect the patient's functional ability. The clinical diagnosis is based on findings from the physical examination and radiologic evaluation. The distribution of erosions and the extent of accompanying periosteal new bone differ from one type of arthritis to the next. These differences in radiologic pattern serve as clues to differential diagnosis. In this article we have emphasized these differences as they pertain to the following conditions; rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, Reiter disease, ankylosing spondylitis, osteoarthritis, gout.