OPTIMIZING EXISTING TOOLS FOR REACHING AN ADEQUATE DISEASE CONTROL IN PATIENTS WITH SPONDYLOARTHRITIS

Background/Objective. Disease activity in spondyloarthritis (SpA) is evaluated through conventional scores such as BASDAI or ASDAS. The aim of this study was to determine disease activity in SpA patients under biological therapy with further assessment on the quality of each activity indicator and their clinical value together with their impact on NSAID intake. Materials and methods. Over nine months (January–August 2015) we enrolled 100 patients with SpA on antiTNF therapy (33% IFX; 35% ADL; 32% ETA). We collected demographic, clinical (BASDAI, ASDAS, PtGA) and laboratory data (ESR, CRP). Frequency of NSAID ingestion expressed as days per week was included in a questionnaire. Considering their biologic treatment, patients were divided into disease activity groups and sample characteristics were correlated and compared. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 20.0, using specific tests such as Pearson, Spearman or ANOVA. Results. Patients with active disease, stated by both activity scores had an increased NSAID intake. Out of 86% of patients with a BASDAI under 4, only 82.6% had an ASDAS-CRP lower than 1.3. BASDAI correlated to both ASDAS scores (r = 0.65 and 0.71, P<0.0