| Summary: | Background: Musculoskeletal involvement is extremely common in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) is an important tool for evaluation of patients with inflammatory arthritis as well as early detection of subclinical inflammation at the joint, tendon and entheseal level. Aim of the work: To investigate the frequency and distribution of lower limb entheseal abnormalities detected by MSUS in SLE patients and to evaluate its relation to disease activity. Patients and methods: 50 adult SLE patients were studied. SLE Disease Activity Index-2000 (SLEDAI-2K) was assessed. High-resolution MSUS assessment of quadriceps, patellar and Achilles tendons, and plantar fascia entheses was performed. Glasgow Ultrasound Enthesitis Scoring System (GUESS) was assessed. Results: The median age of the patients was 30 (interquartile range 23–36.3 years) and were 49 females. The median disease duration was 4 (2–8.3 years), SLEDAI-2K was 4 (2–8) and GUESS score 3 (1–5.3). Clinical enthesitis was found in 22 (44%) patients; 58% of the patients had evident MSUS features of enthesitis and 32% had minimal or isolated entheseal abnormalities. The age and SLEDAI-2K were significantly increased in those with clinical enthesitis compared to those without (p = 0.007 and p = 0.03 respectively). GUESS significantly correlated with the age (r = 0.39, p = 0.005) and SLEDAI-2K (r = 0.29, p = 0.04). Conclusion: Clinical and ultrasound-proved enthesitis are prevalent in SLE patients. Quadriceps tendon insertion is the most affected enthesis. Clinical enthesitis tends to occur in older SLE patients. Enthesitis has positive correlations with; age, and SLEDAI-2K score. The presence of enthesitis may represent a potential marker for SLE disease activity.
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