title: The DESIR cohort: a 10-year follow-up of early inflammatory back pain in France: study design and baseline characteristics of the 708 recruited patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The French Society of Rheumatology has initiated a large national multicenter, longitudinal, prospective follow-up of patients presenting with early inflammatory back pain in order to set up a database to facilitate several investigations on diagnosis, prognosis, epidemiology, pathogenesis and medico-economics in the field of early inflammatory back pain and spondyloarthritis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients were recruited if they had inflammatory back pain of more than 3 months and less than 3 years. Patients will be followed every 6 months during the first 2 years then every year during at least 5years. Apart from information collected on a Case Report Form (demographics, disease activity, severity, co-morbidities, socio-economics, treatments, radiological and MRI evaluation of the spine and the pelvis according to the local investigators, and for some centers bone densitometry and ultrasonography of entheses), the digital X-rays and MRI of the spine and pelvis are stored using a specific software (Carestream) and the biological samples (DNA, RNA, sera, urines) are centralized at the Biological Resources Center (Bichat Hospital).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The recruitment period of the 708 patients (mean age: 34±9years, female 54%, HLA-B27 positive: 57%) in the 25 centers was 26 months (from December 2007 to April 2010). The modified New York criteria, Amor criteria, ESSG criteria and axial ASAS criteria were fulfilled by 26%, 77%, 76% and 67% of the patients at entry, respectively. A history or current symptoms suggestive of peripheral arthritis, acute anterior uveitis and inflammatory bowel disease were observed in 21%, 9% and 4% of the patients, respectively. The disease was active (BASDAI: 45±20) despite an NSAID intake in 66% of the patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This large cohort should facilitate the conduct of researches in different areas (clinical, medico-economics, translational) in order to improve our knowledge on the pathogenesis and natural history of axial spondyloarthritis.
authors: Paris-Descartes University, Medicine Faculty, Rheumatology B Department, Paris 14, France. maxime.dougados@cch.aphp.fr
authors: Maxime
authors: M
authors: Dougados
authors: Maria-Antonietta
authors: MA
authors: d'Agostino
authors: Joëlle
authors: J
authors: Benessiano
authors: Francis
authors: F
authors: Berenbaum
authors: Maxime
authors: M
authors: Breban
authors: Pascal
authors: P
authors: Claudepierre
authors: Bernard
authors: B
authors: Combe
authors: Patricia
authors: P
authors: Dargent-Molina
authors: Jean-Pierre
authors: JP
authors: Daurès
authors: Bruno
authors: B
authors: Fautrel
authors: Antoine
authors: A
authors: Feydy
authors: Philippe
authors: P
authors: Goupille
authors: Véronique
authors: V
authors: Leblanc
authors: Isabelle
authors: I
authors: Logeart
authors: Thao
authors: T
authors: Pham
authors: Pascal
authors: P
authors: Richette
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: Roux
authors: Martin
authors: M
authors: Rudwaleit
authors: Alain
authors: A
authors: Saraux
authors: Jean-Marc
authors: JM
authors: Treluyer
authors: Désirée
authors: D
authors: van der Heijde
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: Wendling
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001416:Back Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D015519:Bone Density / Q000502:physiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010384:Pelvic Bones / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012923:Social Class; D013131:Spine / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D025241:Spondylarthritis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D014463:Ultrasonography