Spondyloarthritis & psoriatic arthritis
The development and validation of a new diagnostic sonographic enthesitis score for psoriatic arthritis: Diagnostic Ultrasound Enthesitis Tool ( Diagnostic Ultrasound Enthesitis Tool (DUET) )
Authors' conclusion
DUET is a novel, externally validated sonographic enthesitis score that could support the diagnostic assessment of patients with early PsA, particularly in individuals with tender entheses.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with early PsA, psoriasis without arthritis (PsO), and non-inflammatory musculoskeletal symptoms as controls (CTL)discovery cohort 213 PsA, 100 PsO, 106 CTL, external validation cohort 101 PsA, 69 CTL · Discovery cohort PsA 213 · Discovery cohort PsO 100 · Discovery cohort CTL 106 · External validation cohort PsA 101 · External validation cohort CTL 69
- Index test or model
- DUET score for distinguishing PsA from CTL
- Target condition
- PsA
Methodological detailsprospective, 17 centers, images centrally scored by three blinded readers, logistic regression models stratified by age, external validation cohort
- Prospective
- 17 centers
- Images centrally scored by three blinded readers
- Logistic regression models stratified by age
- External validation cohort
Performance
As reported in the abstract
| Test or model | AUC | Sensitivity | Specificity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery cohort | 0.65 | 47-49% | 73-74% |
| External validation cohort | — not stated in the abstract | 49-52% | 74-100% |
AUC
Discovery cohort0.65
External validation cohort— not stated in the abstract
Sensitivity
Discovery cohort47-49%
External validation cohort49-52%
Specificity
Discovery cohort73-74%
External validation cohort74-100%
— not stated in the abstract
Further findings
Sensitivity in patients with tender entheses
- Sensitivity increased up to
- 63%
Final DUET score composition
- Weighted inflammatory (hypoechogenicity + thickening + Doppler grade x 2) and structural (enthesophyte grade + erosion x 3) scores at three entheseal sites: Achilles, proximal patellar tendon insertion, and triceps
- Age stratification (≤55 vs. >55 years) improved discriminative performance
Original publication
The development and validation of a new diagnostic sonographic enthesitis score for psoriatic arthritis: Diagnostic Ultrasound Enthesitis Tool ( DUET ). Arthritis Rheumatol. Published 28 October 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →