COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF PATIENTS WITH ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS AND NON-RADIOGRAPHIC AXIAL SPONDYLOARTHRITIS

Abstract

Objective: to study clinical presentations, disease activity, and functional impairments in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA).Subjects and methods. A total of 153 patients were examined in the period 2010 to 2013. They were divided into two groups: 1) 119 patients with a valid diagnosis of AS; 2) 34 with nr-axSpA. BASDAI, BASFI, BASMI, MASES, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and HLA-B27 antigen were determined in both groups. The mean age of the patients was 36.5±0.7 years and 27.0±1.2 years and the disease duration 14.7±0.6 and 4.1±0.5 years in Groups 1 and 2, respectively.Results and discussion. Among the patients with AS and those with nr-axSpA, men accounted for 68.9 and 70.6%, respectively. The axial type was predominant in both groups (53.7% in Group 1 and 67.6% in Group 2). The mean visual analogue scale (VAS) pain score was 40.6±1.6 mm in Group 1 and 31.6±2.4 mm in Group 2 (p < 0.01). High BASDAI was seen in 51.2% of the patients with AS and 41.1% of those with nr-axSpA. Group 2 had significantly lower mean BASDAI values (3.4±0.2) than Group 1 (4.0±0.1). Functional impairments by BASFI were more obvious in the patients with AS ((3.2±0.2) than in those with nr-axSpA (1.5±0.2). BASFI >4 was not noted in Group 2. Higher BASMI scores were found in the patients with AS (1.9±0.1) than in those with nr-axSpA (0.5±0.1). Conclusion. The ASAS criteria for axSpA enable one to establish its diagnosis in the early stage until stable functional impairments emerge. In the pre-radiographic stage, the patients have lower disease activity and pain.

Keywords

• ankylosing spondylitis
• non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis
• activity
• functional impairments