Ultrasound-guided procedures: techniques and usefulness in controlling inflammation and disease progression.

US allows us to detect joint alterations and to perform procedures such as aspiration of fluid as well as therapeutic injections; it helps in placing the needle correctly, greatly improving the outcome. Tissue biopsies (of, for example, synovium, muscle or salivary glands) can be performed with US guidance, and this method may be of significant importance in diagnostic examinations. Other imaging methods may be fused with US, and thus detailed maps are available to navigate in soft tissues. The new era in rheumatology will include US as an important part of its armament.