# Early and Mid-Term Ultrasound Response to Guselkumab in Psoriatic Arthritis: A Real-World Cohort from a Single Tertiary Rheumatology Center

## TL;DR

This study shows that guselkumab improves ultrasound-detected inflammation in psoriatic arthritis patients within 3 to 6 months, with stable structural damage.

## Contribution

The study provides real-world evidence of guselkumab's early and mid-term ultrasound response in psoriatic arthritis.

## Key findings

- Guselkumab significantly reduced synovitis and enthesitis inflammation in psoriatic arthritis patients within 3 to 6 months.
- Improvements in ultrasound-detected inflammation were observed without significant structural changes over 6 months.
- Clinical outcomes like DAPSA and PASI scores improved alongside ultrasound findings.

## Abstract

Objective: To quantify early and mid-term changes in ultrasound-detected synovitis and enthesitis after initiating guselkumab in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and to contextualize imaging responses alongside clinical outcomes. Methods: We conducted a retrospective single-center cohort study of consecutive CASPAR-classified adults (n = 20) initiating guselkumab 100 mg (week 0/week 4, then q8w; q4w intensification per routine practice). Power Doppler ultrasound (PDUS) followed EULAR–OMERACT standards at baseline (T0), Month 3 (T3), and Month 6 (T6). The primary endpoint was within-patient change in 24-joint GLOESS. Secondary endpoints included OMERACT entheseal scores (activity-only; activity + structure), DAPSA states, PASI, and 6-month persistence. Within-patient changes were assessed using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests (two-sided). Results: All 20 patients completed T6. GLOESS decreased from T0 to T3 (mean Δ −4.05 ± 2.78; p = 0.0312) and to T6 (mean Δ −5.70 ± 4.05; p = 0.0001). Component summaries showed a numerically larger early decrease in synovial PD signal than in grayscale synovial hypertrophy (descriptive). Enthesitis scores improved: OMERACT activity-only median Δ −2.0 at T3 (p = 0.0313) and −3.5 at T6 (p = 0.016); activity + structure median Δ −1.5 at T3 (p = 0.0412) and −3.0 at T6 (p = 0.031). The estimated structural component (OMERACT-1 minus OMERACT-2) was similar across visits (descriptive), indicating improvements driven predominantly by inflammatory signal suppression rather than detectable changes in structural lesions over 6 months. Among patients with baseline PD-positive enthesitis (n = 7), PD negativity (OMERACT-2 = 0) occurred in 2/7 (28.6%) by T6. Clinical domains (DAPSA, PASI) improved in parallel, and 6-month persistence was high. Conclusions: In routine care, guselkumab was associated with a significant improvement in PD-inclusive ultrasound synovitis scores by 3 months, which deepened by 6 months, alongside an improvement in entheseal activity measures. Over 6 months, entheseal structural burden appeared stable; these findings should be considered hypothesis-generating and warrant confirmation in prospective controlled studies.