Clinical Trial: Referral Recommendations for Axial Spondyloarthritis

Study Status: Completed
Recruit Status: Completed
Study Type: Observational

Official Title: Performance of Referral Recommendations in Patients With Chronic Back Pain and Suspected Axial Spondyloarthritis

Brief Summary: The purpose of this study is to determine which of the proposed screening parameters or which combination of screening parameters perform best in daily clinical practice for making the diagnosis of axial Spondyloarthritis (SpA)in patients with chronic low back pain.

Detailed Summary:

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and its early form accounts for up to 5% of all patients with chronic back pain. Shortening the delay of 5-10 years between first symptoms and making a diagnosis of AS has become a challenge especially because effective treatments have become available. Easy to apply referral parameters for physicians in primary care may contribute to make the diagnosis earlier.

Methods: Orthopedists and primary care physicians were offered to refer patients with i) chronic low back pain (duration >3 months) and ii) onset of back pain at an age < 45 years to a specialized rheumatology outpatient clinic for further diagnostic work-up if at least one of the following screening parameters was present: 1) inflammatory back pain (IBP), 2) positive HLA-B27, 3) sacroiliitis as detected by imaging. The final diagnosis was made according to expert opinion.

It was analyzed, which parameters or combination of parameters performed best in making a diagnosis of axial SpA.

Sponsor: Charite University, Berlin, Germany

Current Primary Outcome:

Original Primary Outcome:

Current Secondary Outcome:

Original Secondary Outcome:

Information By: Charite University, Berlin, Germany

Dates:
Date Received: October 2, 2006
Date Started: July 2004
Date Completion:
Last Updated: February 12, 2013
Last Verified: February 2013