Chronic back pain in axial spondylarthritis : Current diagnostic challenges and treatment possibilities

Abstract

Among chronic back diseases, axial spondylarthritis (axSpA) is the entity with the largest spectrum of specific anti-inflammatory treatment modalities; however, from ageneral medical perspective axSpA is only ranked as another etiology of back pain to be considered after spinal cord or cauda equina compression, bone metastases, epidural abscess or osteomyelitis of the vertebrae, radiculopathy or spinal stenosis. Due to its relatively low prevalence and mostly later occurring sequelae, there is a danger that axSpA will be arelatively neglected entity for specialists. This article recapitulates the recommendations of the Assessment of Ankylosing Spondyloarthritis International Society (ASAS). This review addresses the practical aspects of the detailed evaluation of treatment attempts carried out so far with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) for back pain. Undesired effects on the symptoms of the lower intestinal tract could be of particular interest here. The sex-specific differences in the response to treatment with tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors in axSpA are mentioned. Further aspects of treatment options with biologics in axSpA are discussed based on a case of maintained remission after acourse of interleukin (IL) 17 inhibitors in undifferentiated, HLA-B27 and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) positive axSpA and long-standing good treatment response to IL-12/23 inhibitor treatment in axial psoriatic arthritis. Furthermore, the literature is discussed with respect to uveitis, carditis and amyloidosis in the context of axSpA. The early diagnosis in the general medical context and the specific consideration of numerous predictive factors play an increasingly more important role in the personalized treatment of axSpA.