The key areas assessed in the Delphi survey for performance and analysis of synovial tissue biopsy.
| Biopsy sampling |
| No. samples retrieved per large or small joint and from different areas of the joint |
| Biopsy processing |
| Duration of time biopsies should be kept in formalin prior to being processed |
| Histological criteria |
| Biopsy area |
| Specific morphological criteria including presence of lining layer and preservation of tissue architecture |
| Staining and immunohistochemistry |
| Requirement for H&E and staining for specific mandatory or optional immunohistochemical cellular markers (CD68, CD3, CD19, CD20, etc.) |
| Biopsy interpretation |
| Requirement for synovitis score, pathotype, presence of lymphoid follicles |
| Type of analysis: semiquantitative or quantitative, and no. areas of biopsy to be assessed |
| RNA analysis |
| Pooling of biopsies for RNA extraction |