title: Staging of patients with ankylosing spondylitis: a preliminary proposal.
abstract: Patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) are characterised by a wide range of clinical presentations, radiographic profiles, and outcomes, which are not well differentiated by current diagnostic and classification systems for the disorder. Inadequacies in these systems may limit clinicians' ability to manage their patients with AS appropriately and act as an obstacle to reasonable comparison of therapeutic trial results. A standardised staging system for AS is therefore proposed that would provide a more detailed categorisation of patients based on assessment of structural damage, peripheral joint and organ involvement, presence of concomitant diseases, and the severity and extent of disease activity and functional impairment. The proposed system needs to be evaluated closely and amended as needed to assure its usefulness in clinical and research settings.
authors.affiliation: Rheumazentrum Ruhrgebiet, Landgrafenstrasse 15, 44652 Herne, Germany. j.braun@rheumazentrum-ruhrgebiet.de
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Braun
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: van der Heijde
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dougados
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Emery
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sieper
authors.forename: Sj
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: van der Linden
mesh_terms: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D011379:Prognosis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D025242:Spondylarthropathies / Q000145:classification; D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents