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METHODS
Study design and data collection
A cohort of consecutive patients referred to a single-center rheumatology outpatient clinic in Colombia were included at the first visit to the clinic between January-2002 and June-2010. Detailed information of the cohort has been published previously 18. Patients with a clinical diagnosis of SpA by one of two rheumatologists considered experts in the field (RV, JL) were selected and included. Patient information was collected based on data from the clinical record. The institutional ethics committee approved this study, conducted under the principles of the Helsinki declaration. Patients signed informed consent to collect, file and use the data.
We collected data related to demographic and clinical parameters such as gender, age at assessment, age at symptoms onset, symptoms at presentation, disease duration and preceding infection. Furthermore, data on past (history) and present (current) SpA features were collected: chronic back pain, IBP, alternating buttock pain, asymmetric oligo-arthritis (predominantly in lower limbs), enthesitis (heel pain), dactylitis (sausage digit), uveitis (confirmed by an ophthalmologist), psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The rheumatologists assessed the patients and provided the clinical diagnosis categorized by subtypes (AS, undifferentiated SpA, reactive arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and SpA associated to IBD). The number of classification criteria met, which was retrospectively assessed per patient (ESSG, Amor, and ASAS) and the number of SpA features, were included as explanatory variables. The patients’ disease characteristics, including the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI), C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were assessed. The Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS) was calculated per patient: ASDAS-ESR and ASDAS-CRP 19.
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