Olivier Fakih
Olivier is a rheumatology fellow at the Department of Rheumatology of Besançon University Hospital in France. His research interests include the epidemiology of inflammatory rheumatic diseases, in particular, mortality and comorbidities in spondyloarthritis. Olivier is a member of the French Society of Rheumatology and the society’s young rheumatologists section (REF). He is a member of the EMEUNET Education Sub-Committee.
| Oral OP0098 | Wednesday 11.06.2025 4.40pm Clinical Abstract Sessions: Spondyloarthritis Author: F Proft (Germany) Title: Assessing the Frequency of Difficult-to-Manage (D2M) and Treatment-Refractory (TR-axSpA) Cases in the RABBIT-SpA Register: An Analysis Based on Recent ASAS Definitions  In the German RABBIT-SpA cohort, 8.5% of b/tsDMARD-naïve axSpA patients met ASAS criteria for Difficult-to-Manage (D2M) axSpA, and 2.5% for Treatment-Refractory (TR) axSpA. D2M patients were more often female, less frequently HLA-B27 positive, with greater peripheral involvement and worse patient-reported outcomes. TR patients showed persistent inflammation with elevated CRP and MRI findings. These criteria help identify patients with challenging disease courses early, potentially guiding tailored management strategies for those at risk of poor treatment response. |
| Poster POS0866 | Thursday 12.06.25 2.45pm Poster View IV Author: C. López-Medina (Spain) Title: Prevalence and Impact of Fibromyalgia on Disease Outcomes and Treatment in Axial Spondyloarthritis: 10-year Follow-up Data from the Desir Cohort In the DESIR cohort, fibromyalgia (FM) was identified in 22% of early axSpA patients using the Fibromyalgia Rapid Screening Tool (FiRST). FM+ patients showed similar MRI-SIJ and CRP findings, and comparable diagnostic confidence from rheumatologists, suggesting FM is more likely a comorbidity than a misdiagnosis. FM+ status was associated with higher disease activity, poorer quality of life, increased risk of permanent disability, and a greater likelihood of initiating biologic therapy, but with significantly lower treatment persistence over 10 years. |
| Poster POS0907 | Thursday 12.06.25 2.45pm Poster View IV Author: S Pujol (France) Title: Exposure to Air Pollution and Axial Spondyloarthritis Flare: Which Pollutant and Which Critical Windows Could Operate an Exploratory Case-cross-over Environmental Study In this case-crossover study of 182 axSpA flares, exposure to air pollutants (especially PM₁₀ and PM₂.₅) was associated with increased flare risk. The highest odds were observed 6 weeks before flares for PM₁₀ (OR 1.46) and PM₂.₅ (OR 1.72), suggesting delayed environmental effects. Ozone showed a weaker association, peaking 2 weeks before. This is the first study to suggest critical exposure windows preceding axSpA flares, supporting a potential causal role of air pollution in disease exacerbation. |
| Poster POS0127 | Thursday 12.06.25 3.09pm Clinical Poster Tours: Imaging in Spondyloarthritis Author: S Kieskamp (Netherlands) Title: Clinical Diagnosis Versus Classification in Axial Spondyloarthritis, The Importance of Sacroiliitis Imaging in Daily Clinical Practice Among 305 newly-diagnosed axSpA patients, only 12% fulfilled the ASAS clinical arm without imaging evidence of sacroiliitis. Over a median 8-year follow-up, just 5% of these patients developed radiographic sacroiliitis. Despite similar disease burden across groups, clinical-only diagnoses were rare and remained largely unconfirmed by imaging over time. These findings highlight the importance of imaging in accurately diagnosing axSpA and avoiding misdiagnosis, particularly in patients who initially meet only the clinical classification criteria. |
| Oral OP0313 | Friday 13.06.25 11.30am Clinical Abstract Sessions: Imaging in Spondyloarthritis Author: D Deppe (Germany) Title: To X-ray or not to X-ray – Preliminary Results of a Comparative Study on First-line Imaging in Suspected Axial Spondyloarthritis (axSpA) In this randomised study of 176 patients with suspected axSpA, ultra-low-dose CT and MRI as first-line imaging outperformed the standard pathway (XR → MRI → CT) in diagnostic yield. Only 4.2% were diagnosed via initial X-ray, versus 24–26% with first-line MRI or CT. Subsequent imaging rarely added diagnostic value. These findings suggest that MRI- or CT-first strategies significantly improve detection of axSpA and support revising current imaging algorithms to reduce reliance on low-yield X-rays. |