FRI0400 A Five Year Prospective Study of Spinal Radiographic Progression in Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis

BackgroundThe knowledge about what predicts progress of syndesmophytes that characterize patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is limited. The strongest known predictor for radiographic progression in the spine is existing syndesmophytes at baseline.ObjectivesTo study the radiographic progression in the spine in AS patients in total and by gender and search for predictors for the changes.Methods204 patients with AS, all meeting the New York criteria, from three rheumatology departments in western Sweden were included in a longitudinal study. At baseline and after five years lateral radiographs of the cervical and lumbar spine were obtained and graded according to the modified Stoke Ankylosing Spondylitis Spine Score (mSASSS). All radiographs were assessed by the same experienced radiologist (MG). Predictors were assessed through questionnaires, back mobility tests and blood samples.ResultsOf the 204 patients included at baseline, 169 (83%) patients were re-examined at the five year follow-up, 92 (54%) men and 77 (46%) women. At baseline, the median age (IQR) of the 169 patients was 49 (40 to 61.5) years old and the median duration of symptoms (IQR) was 22 (12 to 34) years, no significant difference in age or duration of symptoms between gender. Baseline mean mSASSS was 14.9±20.0 with progression to 16.4±20.8 at follow-up, an increase with 1.5±3.0 units (p