Ultrasonographic Evaluation of Lower Extremity Entheseal Sites in Diabetic Patients Using Glasgow Ultrasound Enthesitis Scoring System Score

OBJECTIVE: The prevalence of musculoskeletal complications in diabetes mellitus (DM) increases with the duration of disease and with poor glycemic control. Our aim was to evaluate lower extremity musculoskeletal complications in patients with DM using the Glasgow Ultrasound Enthesitis Scoring System, and to reveal the relationship between clinical and sono-graphic findings. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 67 patients (25 men, 42 women) with DM were included in the study. All the diabetic patients were selected if they did not have any symptom of muscu-loskeletal system in the lower extremities. They were divided into four groups. Ultrasonographic assessment was performed according to the Glasgow Ultrasound Enthesitis Scoring System with an Esaote MyLab 5 device equipped with a 5–13 MHz linear transducer. Correlation between diabetes duration and lower extremity enthesopathy scores were evaluated. RESULTS: There was a significant correlation between duration of DM and total Glasgow Ultrasound Enthesitis Scoring System scores (p < 0.001). In addition, duration of DM was significantly correlated with enthesophyte scores and erosion scores (both p < 0.001). There was a significant difference among Groups 1 –4 for the mean enthesophyte score and mean erosion score (both, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Musculoskeletal ultrasonography is an effective, inexpensive, and useful tool without radiation for evaluating diabetic patients for the early diagnosis of musculoskeletal complications.