Fall 2016 (Volume 26, Number 3)

CRUS Update

By the CRUS Executive Delegation to Norway

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Greetings, CRA members! We have had a busy start to 2016 with the launch of our new e-learning website, re-vamping of our Canadian Rheum-atology Ultrasound Society (CRUS) executive, advances in our application towards an Area of Focused Competency (AFC) Diploma in point of care ultrasound (POCUS) for rheumatology, and our first-ever Canadian delegation to the International Vasculitis Ultrasound meeting in Kristiansand, Norway.

New ECRUS Website
We are happy to announce more value for your CRUS membership. The members-only website can be accessed through www.cruslearn.crus-surc.ca. There you will find instructive cases of various pathologies, along with interesting articles and videos from our past courses. Questions regarding your login details, the website content, and cases can be directed to info@ecrus.ca.

New CRUS Executive
We are very excited to announce our newest CRUS president, Dr. Michael Stein, from Montreal, who brings with him a uniquely Quebec experience! Dr. Stein has been involved in ultrasound research as part of the Prospective Observational Study to Evaluate the Use of MSK US to Improve Rheumatoid Arthritis Management: Canadian Experience (ECHO) study. Dr. Johannes Roth has stepped down from his role of president and we thank him for his contributions to CRUS. We have also added two new education positions; Dr. Susan Barr from Calgary will oversee training, and Dr. Maria Bagovich from Toronto will handle online education. Dr. Chris Penney, Dr. Abe Chaiton, Dr. Diane Wilson, and Dr. Lihi Eder remain in their roles of Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Research Director, respectively.

POCUS Update
We would like to commend Dr. Chaiton for his (among others) relentless pursuit of recognition by the Royal College for an AFC Diploma in POCUS for rheumatology. We are pleased to announce that, as of March 16, 2016, the Royal College Speciality Committee in Diagnostic Radiology “supports in principle the application for AFC POCUS rheumatology” with specific recommendations to re-convene in fall 2016. Stay tuned.

Canadian Delegation International Vasculitis Ultrasound Meeting: Kristiansand, Norway
This year marks the first year that Canada had a significant presence at the 4th International Workshop on Ultrasound in Large Vessel Vasculitis and Polymyalgia Rheumatica, which took place April 8-10, 2016, in Kristiansand, Norway. Canada sent six of the 19 participants; the ratio of tutor to student was 1:5. The course focused mainly on vascular ultrasound skills to image temporal arteries in addition to large vessels (axillary, carotid) looking for signs specific to large-vessel vasculitis. Though not the focus, the course touched briefly on imaging in polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). New information brought to light was the utility of scanning large vessels, such as the axillary artery, to help with both diagnosis and relapse of large-vessel vasculitis. It was our impression that there has been—and will be—a move towards greyscale diagnosis of vasculitis using intimal wall thickening as well as the halo sign, with the advent of more powerful machines with higher-frequency probes (e.g., 22MHz rather than 18MHz). We were able to see recent and chronic patients with giant cell arthritis (GCA) and saw the halo sign first-hand—it was very exciting. Lastly, the Scandic Hotel Bystranda was outstanding; the blue water provided a beautiful backdrop to an already phenomenal course. Dr. Andreas Diamantopoulos visited Canada for a refresher course the weekend of May 13, 2016. A very special thanks to Dr. Penney for his efforts in bringing this dream to fruition.

Canadian CRUS Delegation to Norway from left to right: Dr. Barr, Dr. Wilson,
Dr. Bagovich, Dr. Chaiton, Dr. Maggie Larché, and Dr. Aurore Fifi-Mah.

CRUS Executive Delegation to Norway:
Maria Bagovich, MD, FRCPC, RhMSUS;
Susan G. Barr, MD, MSc, FRCPC;
Abraham Chaiton, MD, MSc, FRCPC, RhMSUS;
Aurore Fifi-Mah, MD, FRCPC;
Maggie Larché, MBChB, MRCP(UK), PhD; and
Diane Wilson, MD, FRCPC