Spondylarthropathy

They should be used in spondylarthropathy therapy only with great discretion. Sulfasalazine is beneficial occasionally, but usually is not well-tolerated.

Moreover, patients with asymmetrical sacroiliitis in addition to, for example, a dactylitis or uveitis would be excluded from classification and yet clearly are part of the spondylarthropathy spectrum.

Spondylarthropathy (SpA) in children can exist as a discrete clinical entity (e.g. juvenile AS or arthritis associated with psoriasis or inflammatory bowel disease), but it is often not well differentiated.

Immunopathologic studies have suggested that the features of spondylarthropathy are distinctive, supporting a prominent role for innate immune cells, and can be consistently differentiated from rheumatoid arthritis.

The frequency of destructive spondylarthropathy increases with duration of survival. In patients treated for more than 10 years by hemodialysis, prevalence estimates vary according to centers between 12 and 48%.