Spondyloarthritis: modern terminology and definitions

Abstract

Aim to identify outdated terms and make changes to the terminology of spondyloarthritis. Materials and methods. At the first stage of the work, the terms divided into two categories: “outdated” definitions and terms that need to be improved or unified. Subsequently, each member of the Expert Group of Spondyloarthritis at the Association of Rheumatologists of Russia (ExSpA) presented by its own definition of the designated term or agreed with the previous term. At the next stage, the existing definitions were put together. After discussion, experts left a term that scored at least 2/3 of the votes. The special opinion of experts was recorded, whose did not coincide with the majority opinion. An open vote was conducted, when defining an “outdated” term with the unanimous decision of all group members, this term was not recommended for further clinical use. Results. The work carried out allowed us to identify a number of terms that are not recommended for use in clinical practice. Number of terms are defined, which should be used when discussing the problem of spondyloarthritis. Conclusion. The Expert Group of Spondyloarthritis at the Association of Rheumatologists of Russia suggests using or, accordingly, not using a number of terms and their definitions in clinical practice.

Keywords

• spondyloarthritis
• ankylosing spondylitis
• sacroiliitis