Ultrasound (US) imaging has made significant progress over the past 20 years in relation to its role in inflammatory arthritis, and in particular, Rheumatoid Arthritis. Modern US machines provide crisp, detailed images of superficial anatomical structures which has facilitated the uptake of US imaging as an important assessment tool within the Rheumatology department. Diagnostic and prognostic information can now assist clinicians decisions with the goal of improving patient treatment and subsequent outcome. In addition, 3D US imaging has recently been suggested as an additional imaging modality with potential benefits in the assessment of in?ammatory arthritis. Recent work has focused on providing a reliable, responsive US joint count which can be assimilated into routine care as well as providing a platform for clinical research. Thus, my first aim was to show that a defined limited US data set, including 2D and 3D imaging, shows acceptable reliability. I demonstrate that both imaging modalities are reliable in terms of reading and image acquisition when restricted to a limited US data set. My second aim, was to demonstrate that a limited US data set is responsive. Using both a physiological and pharmacological trigger, I demonstrate that both 2D and 3D imaging are responsive and that combining US endpoints with DAS28 (Disease Activity Score - 28) increased the effect size and identifies treatment effects early. Despite notable advances in musculoskeletal US research, there is still need for better understanding of the pathophysiological correlates of ultrasound imaging. Therefore my final aim was to examine the relationship of Power Doppler Signal (PDS) and gray-scale synovial thickening with histological features of synovitis at a single joint level and with an extended joint US data set. I Firstly show that the harvesting of synovial tissue, using a minimally invasive US-guided biopsy technique, is safe and well tolerated by patients and that the quality of tissue and RNA extracted is good. Using this tissue collection method, I demonstrate a good correlation of US and histological parameters of synovitis (specifically CD68+ sub-lining macrophages) at a single joint level, in both an early and established RA cohort. This relationship is maintained if the US assessment is extended to a discrete US joint data set. Furthermore, within the knee joint I demonstrated that PDS correlates well with synovial tissue expression of inflammatory mediators of neoangiogenesis and histological assessment of synovial vascular area.

Theoretical foundation: Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic system disease manifesting itself particularly by inflammatory joint impairment. The main problems confronting daily the patient include pains of the motor system and fatigue. The disease has typically long, progressive development, and although it does not cause directly the patients' death, it reduces their life by some ten years on average. The serious character of the disease consists in the fact that the motor abilities of the individual are gradually impaired. At the beginning the patients must avoid major physical activity, often give up their hobbies and sometimes even their jobs. In the most serious cases, the disease may even prevent the patients from performing basic self-service activities. Goal of the thesis: The goal of the thesis consists in mapping the level of problems of rheumatoid arthritis patients at performing daily activities. Hypotheses - H1: Rheumatoid arthritis patients feel discomfort when performing common daily activities, H2: Rheumatoid arthritis patients make use of supporting and compensation aids when performing common daily activities, H3: Rheumatoid arthritis patients make use of another person's assistance when performing common daily activities. Methodology: The research part of the thesis was implemented based on quantitative inquiry within the grant Project No. 120/2012/S ?Reflection of life quality in nursing?. The actual research made use of HAQ standardized questionnaire, distributed among the rheumatoid arthritis patients. The size of the research set was set at 200 rheumatoid arthritis patients from all over the Czech Republic. The respondents were chosen based on quota selection, striving to observe the proportion of men to women at 3:1, i.e. 150 women and 50 men. When searching the respondents, organizations associating patients with the respective diagnosis were first approached. All results obtained were statistically processed in the SASD (Statistical Analysis of Social Data) program. Descriptive statistics were used. Results: The results can be divided into three areas, by the related hypotheses. The first part of the results gave information on the degree of discomfort felt by the individuals when performing specific common daily activities. It was found out that the patients see the most difficult activity in taking down an item from a place above their head and bathing in the bathtub. The second area brought information on the aids used to perform common daily activities. The respondents named dressing aids or handgrips at the bathtub most frequently. The third and last area brought the answer to the question what activities require another person's help. The patients named reaching or opening of things most frequently. But an essential part of the patients stated not to need any help of another person in common daily activities. Based on the results, the hypotheses were evaluated as follows: H1 - Rheumatoid arthritis patients feel discomfort when performing common daily activities - confirmed, H2 - Rheumatoid patients make use of supporting and compensation aids when performing common daily activities - confirmed and H3 - Rheumatoid arthritis patients make use of another's person when performing common daily activities - not confirmed. Conclusion: The thesis provides a detailed and comprehensive view on the issues of performing common daily activities in rheumatoid arthritis patients. The results can be used both by practical nurses and by students of nursing and related disciplines. The thesis can also constitute foundation for further research. The thesis results will be also presented and published.