title: Spondyloarthritis in patients with ulcerative colitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Extraintestinal manifestations can complicate the course of ulcerative colitis and can influence the prognosis.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Sixty-eight patients of the metropolitan area of Florence with ulcerative colitis in clinical and endoscopic remission were evaluated to establish the presence of spondyloarthritis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Each patient was studied through clinical and radiological evaluations to assess the presence of joint involvement.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found signs of spondyloarthritis in 19 patients (27.9%). Four of them had a classic ankylosing spondylitis (5.8%) and in 3 of them the aplotype HLA B27 was present. Sacroileitis was found in 9 (13.2%) patients (monolateral in 5 cases and bilateral in 4). Six patients (8.8%) showed an unclassifiable form of arthritis, fulfilling the Amor criteria. In 13 of 19 patients with spondyloarthritis, we found a pancolic extension of disease (68.4%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results obtained from our series of ulcerative colitis patients reveal a lower proportion of cases of spondyloarthritis than that found in other Italian studies. We are planning further investigations on a larger population to better assess the prevalence of spondyloarthritis in ulcerative colitis patients.
authors.affiliation: Gastroenterology Unit, Careggi Hospital, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bardazzi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mannoni
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: d'Albasio
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Bonanomi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Trallori
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Benucci
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Serni
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pacini
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D001168:Arthritis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology