Can rheumatologists unequivocally diagnose axial spondyloarthritis in patients with chronic back pain of less than 2 years duration? Primary outcome of the 2-year SPondyloArthritis Caught Early (SPACE) cohort

Conclusion
A diagnosis of d-axSpA can be reliably made in nearly one-third of patients with CBP referred to the rheumatologist, but diagnostic uncertainty may persist in 5%–30% after 2y. Repeated assessments yield is modest, but repeating MRI may be worthwhile in male HLA-B27+ patients.

Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - April 11, 2024 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Marques, M. L., Ramiro, S., van Lunteren, M., Stal, R. A., Landewe, R. B., van de Sande, M., Fagerli, K. M., Berg, I. J., van Oosterhout, M., Exarchou, S., Ramonda, R., van der Heijde, D., van Gaalen, F. A. Tags: ARD, Spondyloarthritis Source Type: research