CAN AXIAL SPONDYLOARTHRITIS UNEQUIVOCALLY BE DIAGNOSED BY RHEUMATOLOGISTS IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC BACK PAIN OF LESS THAN TWO YEARS DURATION? MAIN RESULT OF THE SPONDYLOARTHRITIS CAUGHT EARLY (SPACE) COHORT
Abstract: OP0005
Authors: M. L. Marques et al.
Key content:
AxSpA is often diagnosed with a long delay. The European inception cohort SPACE included patients ≤45yrs old with a recent onset (3mts-2yrs) chronic back pain (CBP) of unknown origin. Patients were followed over time. The main outcome was clinical diagnosis of definite axSpA at 2 years by clinical judgement with level of confidence of 7 or more (0-10). The authors found that 32 % of the patients at baseline fulfilled the classification criteria of axSpA and 30% at 2 years. In only 6% the baseline diagnosis of axSpA was refuted at 2 years. 9% of patients without axSpA diagnosis at BL obtained this diagnosis at 2 years. SpA features were more prevalent at baseline in the patients diagnosed with axSpA at 2 yrs. The best discriminator was sacroiliitis on X-ray or MRI at baseline.
Relevance:
The diagnosis of axSpA is quite frequent among younger patients with CBP referred to rheumatologists. The diagnosis can be reliably made at the first visit. The best predictor for a definite diagnosis of axSpA at 2 years is imaging.
