期刊
RHEUMATOLOGY
卷 49, 期 5, 页码 929-932出版社
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/rheumatology/kep435
关键词
Ankylosing spondylitis; Disease activity; Functional impairment
类别
资金
- National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society
- Medical Research Council [86669]
- Medical Research Council (MRC)
- MRC [G0800583] Funding Source: UKRI
- Medical Research Council [G0800583] Funding Source: researchfish
Objective. To examine the characteristics and frequency of disease flares in a cohort of people with AS. Methods. A prospective data set from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a probiotic treatment/placebo was utilized to examine disease flares in 134 people with AS. Disease flares were defined as either minor/localized flares (pain/swelling localized to one area with fatigue and stiffness) or major/generalized flares (generalized pain, hot burning joints, muscle spasm, fever, sweating, extreme fatigue and stiffness). Results. One hundred and thirty-four people were followed up for 1216 person follow-up weeks and there were 71.4 flares per 100 person-weeks. Of these, 12 were major/generalized flares and 59.4 were minor/localized flares. People who experienced at least one major/generalized flare during the study period had worse disease during flare-free periods in terms of disease activity, impaired function, self-reported night pain and iritis compared with those who did not experience any major/generalized flares during the study. Major/generalized flares lasted for an average of 2.4 weeks (S.D. 2.7), and were preceded by and followed by a minor/localized flare in 92% (55/60) of cases. Conclusion. Seventy per cent of people with AS felt they had a flare in any given week. Those who experienced major/generalized flares appear to have more severe and active disease even during periods when not in flare, compared with those who do not experience major/generalized flares. These results have implications for the timing of assessments prior to starting anti-TNF therapy and suggest that the presence of major flares may be helpful in identifying patients with severe disease.
作者
我是这篇论文的作者
点击您的名字以认领此论文并将其添加到您的个人资料中。
推荐
暂无数据