Hrvatska proljetna pedijatrijska škola ● XXXIV. seminar Split, 2017. Zbornik radova za medicinske sestre 7 Background Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common chronic arthritis in childhood with potentially signifcant physical and psychological disability (1). At this time, pediatric rheumatologists rely on physical examination to diagnose JIA. Ultrasound (US) is more sensitive than physical examination while there is an increased interest of using the ultraso- und in JIA evaluation since it may detect early disease (2-4). Early detection and treatment of JIA may prevent and/or delay adverse outcomes such as joint damage and disability. Until now, researches were forced to use the Outcome Measures in Rheuma- tology (OMERACT) defnitions for syno- vial components and quantifcation of se- verity and extent of synovitis developed for adults with rheumatoid arthritis (5). Howe- ver, these defnitions may not be necessa- rily applicable to pediatric patients, owing to the unique features of the growing ske- leton and the changes in joint morphology during development. To overcome the gap ADVANCES IN ULTRASOUND APPLICATION IN JUVENILE IDIOPATHIC ARTHRITIS JELENA VOJINOVIĆ 1,2 , DRAGANA LAZAREVIĆ 1 , LJILJANA PEJČIĆ 1,2 , MARIJA RATKOVIĆ-JANKOVIĆ 1 , IVANA NIKOLIĆ 1 , MILICA JAKOVLJEVIĆ 1 Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a potentially debilitating disease of early child- hood. To diagnose JIA pediatric rheumatologists rely on physical examination but there is an increased interest of using the ultrasound (US) because of its advantages over other ima- ging techniques used in pediatric, which include non-invasiveness, rapidity of performance, ease of repeatability, high patient acceptability and lack of exposure to ionizing radiation. Omeract Ultrasound Task Force has done a great deal of effort and activity to standardize and validate the US image acquisition, defne synovitis features and scoring of US abnor- malities in children. Current evidences about application of ultrasound in JIA can improve defnition of remission necessary to optimize treatment strategies. Ultrasound showed to be reliable while the next step should be to test sensitivity to change in order to possibly be used as an outcome tool in JIA. Due to peculiarities of US examination and image acquisition in children additional educational efforts among pediatric rheumatologists are required for expanding this imaging modality in daily practice. Descriptors: JUVENILE IDIOPATHIC ARTHRITIS, ULTRASOUND, CHILD 1 Clinic of Pediatrics, Clinical Centre Niš 2 Medical Faculty, University of Niš Address: Prof. Jelena Vojinović, MD PhD Medical Faculty, University of Niš, Serbia Clinic of Pediatrics, Clinical Centre Niš, Serbia 18000 Niš, Bul. dr. Zorana Djindjica 81, Serbia E-mail: vojinovic.jelena@gmail.com