Diagnosis of spondyloarthritis: Application of criteria in clinical practice

Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is an umbrella term for a group of inflammatory musculoskeletal conditions characterized by predominant involvement of the spine, the lower limb joints, and the entheses. The Assessment of SpA International Society (ASAS) group classifies SpA into axial SpA (axSpA) and periph...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sham Santhanam, Vinod Ravindran
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2020-01-01
Series:Indian Journal of Rheumatology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.indianjrheumatol.com/article.asp?issn=0973-3698;year=2020;volume=15;issue=5;spage=19;epage=26;aulast=Santhanam
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832568798814666752
author Sham Santhanam
Vinod Ravindran
author_facet Sham Santhanam
Vinod Ravindran
author_sort Sham Santhanam
collection DOAJ
description Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is an umbrella term for a group of inflammatory musculoskeletal conditions characterized by predominant involvement of the spine, the lower limb joints, and the entheses. The Assessment of SpA International Society (ASAS) group classifies SpA into axial SpA (axSpA) and peripheral SpA. axSpA was further divided into radiographic SpA and nonradiographic SpA. Classification criteria are meant for research purposes to enroll a homogeneous cohort, unlike diagnostic criteria, which are meant for diagnosing diseases in the community and therefore must include all the heterogeneous manifestations of a disease. Inflammatory low back pain is one of the most important features in history to be elicited in the diagnosis of axSpAs. It should not be used in isolation and always combined with other features of SpA. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the gold standard and is the only imaging modality capable of detecting both inflammatory and structural changes. A positive MRI finding should be interpreted in the relevant clinical context, and an alternative differential diagnosis for sacroiliitis should be considered if the clinical picture is atypical of SpA. The presence of HLA B 27 in isolation is neither diagnostic of SpAs nor its absence rules out the diagnosis. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein are the commonly used biomarkers in SpA but do not always correlate with disease activity. The ASAS criteria have been tested for its validity, though there were concerns regarding its specificity. In this narrative review various criteria available for classifying SpAs have been discussed and their strengths, weaknesses, and usefulness in the diagnosis of SpA in our everyday practice have been appraised . Various referral strategies and usefulness of these criteria and parameters in the Indian context have also been discussed.
format Article
id doaj-art-b21b7aca8e7943088ec0c99ba4beede3
institution Kabale University
issn 0973-3698
0973-3701
language English
publishDate 2020-01-01
publisher SAGE Publishing
record_format Article
series Indian Journal of Rheumatology
spelling doaj-art-b21b7aca8e7943088ec0c99ba4beede32025-02-03T00:25:49ZengSAGE PublishingIndian Journal of Rheumatology0973-36980973-37012020-01-01155192610.4103/0973-3698.284747Diagnosis of spondyloarthritis: Application of criteria in clinical practiceSham SanthanamVinod RavindranSpondyloarthritis (SpA) is an umbrella term for a group of inflammatory musculoskeletal conditions characterized by predominant involvement of the spine, the lower limb joints, and the entheses. The Assessment of SpA International Society (ASAS) group classifies SpA into axial SpA (axSpA) and peripheral SpA. axSpA was further divided into radiographic SpA and nonradiographic SpA. Classification criteria are meant for research purposes to enroll a homogeneous cohort, unlike diagnostic criteria, which are meant for diagnosing diseases in the community and therefore must include all the heterogeneous manifestations of a disease. Inflammatory low back pain is one of the most important features in history to be elicited in the diagnosis of axSpAs. It should not be used in isolation and always combined with other features of SpA. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the gold standard and is the only imaging modality capable of detecting both inflammatory and structural changes. A positive MRI finding should be interpreted in the relevant clinical context, and an alternative differential diagnosis for sacroiliitis should be considered if the clinical picture is atypical of SpA. The presence of HLA B 27 in isolation is neither diagnostic of SpAs nor its absence rules out the diagnosis. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein are the commonly used biomarkers in SpA but do not always correlate with disease activity. The ASAS criteria have been tested for its validity, though there were concerns regarding its specificity. In this narrative review various criteria available for classifying SpAs have been discussed and their strengths, weaknesses, and usefulness in the diagnosis of SpA in our everyday practice have been appraised . Various referral strategies and usefulness of these criteria and parameters in the Indian context have also been discussed.http://www.indianjrheumatol.com/article.asp?issn=0973-3698;year=2020;volume=15;issue=5;spage=19;epage=26;aulast=Santhanamankylosing spondylitisaxial spondyloarthritisclassification criteriahla b 27magnetic resonance imagingsacroiliitis
spellingShingle Sham Santhanam
Vinod Ravindran
Diagnosis of spondyloarthritis: Application of criteria in clinical practice
Indian Journal of Rheumatology
ankylosing spondylitis
axial spondyloarthritis
classification criteria
hla b 27
magnetic resonance imaging
sacroiliitis
title Diagnosis of spondyloarthritis: Application of criteria in clinical practice
title_full Diagnosis of spondyloarthritis: Application of criteria in clinical practice
title_fullStr Diagnosis of spondyloarthritis: Application of criteria in clinical practice
title_full_unstemmed Diagnosis of spondyloarthritis: Application of criteria in clinical practice
title_short Diagnosis of spondyloarthritis: Application of criteria in clinical practice
title_sort diagnosis of spondyloarthritis application of criteria in clinical practice
topic ankylosing spondylitis
axial spondyloarthritis
classification criteria
hla b 27
magnetic resonance imaging
sacroiliitis
url http://www.indianjrheumatol.com/article.asp?issn=0973-3698;year=2020;volume=15;issue=5;spage=19;epage=26;aulast=Santhanam
work_keys_str_mv AT shamsanthanam diagnosisofspondyloarthritisapplicationofcriteriainclinicalpractice
AT vinodravindran diagnosisofspondyloarthritisapplicationofcriteriainclinicalpractice