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Advances in treatment of axial spondyloarthritis are associated with improved patient outcomes: data from the Ankylosing Spondylitis Registry of Ireland (ASRI)

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Abstract

The Ankylosing Spondylitis Registry of Ireland (ASRI) captures both radiographic and non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) in a large, well characterised cohort. This is a valuable resource for studies in therapeutics and burden of disease, following a period of rapid change in the field of axSpA. This study aims to perform a focused analysis on patient outcomes and pattern of medication usage in axSpA. This is a cross-sectional study of registry data on 885 patients with confirmed axSpA as per the ASAS criteria for axSpA, as diagnosed by a Rheumatologist. Analysis was performed using IBM SPSS version 26. Patients were analysed on the basis of treatment categorised as: no medication, NSAIDs, biologics or combination therapy. Statistical significance was indicated by p value of < 0.05. Currently 885 patients are enrolled in the ASRI, made up of 72.5% (642) males and 26.9% (238) females. The majority of the cohort was categorized as radiographic axSpA 78.3% (693), with 21.7% (192) meeting criteria for non-radiographic disease. Overall 40.6% (359) reported at least one comorbidity. Older age was associated with no medications compared to those on biologic therapy (50.3 vs 45, p = 0.01). Lower levels of disease activity and higher quality of life were noted in those on biologics as compared to NSAIDs alone. This analysis provides detailed epidemiological data on axSpA from a large national registry. These results detail significant differences in prescribing patterns and impact on patient outcomes in axSpA. Ongoing development of registries provides a valuable insight into the real-world effects of axSpA.

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Funding

The ASRI is supported by unrestricted funding from AbbVie, Pfizer and UCB. SM is the recipient of the Gilead Inflammation Fellowship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Rheumatology, St James’ Hospital, Dublin, Ireland

    Sinead Maguire & Finbar O’Shea

  2. School of Medicine, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland

    Sinead Maguire & Finbar O’Shea

  3. School of Medicine, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland

    Gillian Fitzgerald

  4. Department of Rheumatology, Galway University Hospital, Galway, Ireland

    Gillian Fitzgerald

  5. Department of Rheumatology, St Vincent’s Hospital, Dublin, Ireland

    Phil Gallagher

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  1. Sinead Maguire
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  2. Gillian Fitzgerald
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Correspondence to Sinead Maguire.

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Maguire, S., Fitzgerald, G., Gallagher, P. et al. Advances in treatment of axial spondyloarthritis are associated with improved patient outcomes: data from the Ankylosing Spondylitis Registry of Ireland (ASRI). Rheumatol Int 42, 831–838 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-021-05067-z

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