ONE IN TWENTY INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE PATIENTS WHO UNDERWENT ABDOMINOPELVIC COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY HAVE UNDIAGNOSED AXIAL SPONDYLOARTHRITIS
Abstract: POS0035
Authors: C. S. E. Lim et al.
Key content:
AxSpA is often diagnosed with a long delay. As patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) often have imaging with abdominal CT scans for assessment of bowel disease, this study aimed at examining the prevalence of radiologic signs of axSpA in these patients. IBD patients 18-55 yrs old for which CT scans were available were included. CT scans were retrospectively reviewed and patients with sacroliitis on CT were invited for interview and examination. CT-defined sacroiliitis was found in 60 of 301 patients. 11 of those 60 patients (40%) had a rheumatologist verified diagnosis of axSpA. 3 of 60 (5%) were previously undiagnosed.
Relevance:
This interesting study demonstrates that a high percentage of IBD patients have axSpA and that there is a considerable number of patients, which are undiagnosed. This is remarkable since for these patients there are often CT scans available that would allow diagnosis. Radiologists should be aware of this and not only focus on bowel diagnostics but also look for signs of sacroiliitis in these patients.
