Author: Bayram Farisogullari
Da Silva et al. (POS0005) compared the spinal symptoms at baseline and after two years in early axial spondyloathritis (axSpA) patients (n = 267) and non-axSpA chronic back pain patients (n = 110) from the SPACE cohort. Non-axSpA vs axSpA patients had worse spinal symptoms. In addition, although back pain and morning stiffness improved significantly in both groups at two years, significant symptoms persisted, especially in non-axSpA patients.
Vegas et al. (POS0011) investigated the evolution of degenerative spinal lesions in patients with axSpA and the factors associated with progression over 10 years of follow-up from the DESIR cohort. Degenerative spinal lesions, although common, progressed very slowly over 10 years on both radiographs and MRI. However, this progression appears to be faster in patients with a higher BMI and those exposed to bDMARDs, which is likely to indicate a more severe form of axSpA.
López-Medina et al. (POS0016) sought to determine the independent impact of the presence of peripheral arthritis on disease activity outcomes, and to investigate differences in this impact across SpA phenotypes (axSpA, peripheral spondyloarthritis, pSpA, and psoriatic arthritis, PsA). They concluded that peripheral arthritis, particularly its current presence, had a significant impact on disease activity outcome measures in SpA patients, and this impact remained consistent across the different phenotypes of SpA, but with a greater impact on DAPSA compared to the remaining disease activity measures.
Georgiadis et al. (POS0398) aimed to identify BASDAI cut-offs for disease activity states against predefined external criteria, and to investigate the effect of sex on BASDAI cut-offs from the EUROSPA collaboration cohort. They concluded that BASDAI cut-offs for disease activity states against predefined external criteria were <1.4, <2.8 and >5.9, and suggested that sex differences in disease activity assessment could be considered in clinical practice.
Hadsbjerg et al. (POS0401) examined MRI findings of the sacro-iliac joints (SIJs) approximately eight years after MRI in women with and without post-partum buttock/pelvic pain who participated in the MASH study. Women with post-partum buttock/pelvic pain rarely developed classical MRI features of axSpA or were diagnosed with axial SpA within eight years. Women with post-partum pain had more sclerosis than women without buttock/pelvic pain, even up to seven years after the last delivery.
Mac Gearailt et al. (POS0433) examined the association between depression and the use of biologics in a large cohort of Irish patients with axSpA. They found that patients with a diagnosis of depression were more likely to have peripheral arthritis, psoriasis and enthesitis. Disease severity was similar between those with and without depression in their study, but those with depression were less likely to have required treatment with biologics than those without depression.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bayram Farisogullari
Bayram is a rheumatologist in Turkey and clinical research fellow at University College London in the UK. His research interests include remission and imaging in axSpA, fatigue in musculoskeletal diseases and outcome measurement in myositis.
Bayram is a member of the Social Media Sub-committee.