Clinical assessment and outcome research in spondyloarthritis

Abstract

Spondyloarthritis (SpA; formerly called seronegative arthritis) generally follows a chronic course with an uncertain outcome and includes diseases, such as ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis, that require regular medical care and monitoring to control for disease activity and maintain physical function. This article describes recent achievements in the field of clinical outcome assessment, imaging, and the classification of patients with SpA symptoms. Clinical instruments are addressed that measure function, disease activity, and pain through questionnaires, physical examination, and laboratory tests. Furthermore, the value of different imaging techniques for daily practice is described, and the new classification criteria for axial SpA are discussed.

Diagnostics of Sacroiliitis According to ASAS Criteria: A Comparative Evaluation of Conventional Radiographs and MRI in Patients with a Clinical Suspicion of Spondyloarthropathy. Preliminary Results

“…Regarding chronic inflammatory lesions, we found: erosions in 16% of subjects, sclerosis in 53%, and fatty infiltration of bone marrow in 64% of subjects. These results are similar to reported in studies by other authors [ 35 , 36 ].…”

“…Our research confirmed MRI to visualize early inflammatory lesions [ 2 , 36 ]. Application of MRI in patients not disclosing lesions by radiographs according to the modified NY criteria allowed us to diagnose sacroiliitis in 38% of patients in a pre-radiographic stage and ruled out inflammation in 50% of patients with sacroiliitis by radiographic examination according to modNY criteria.…”