Recognizing Axial Spondyloarthritis in Primary Care

Author(s):

Back pain is the second leading symptom prompting a visit to a primary care physician. Here, we highlight a review of axial spondyloarthritis from Mayo Clinic Proceedings. The review aims to help primary care physicians detect this condition and know when to refer to a rheumatologist.

Back pain is the second leading symptom prompting a visit to a primary care physician, with around 20 percent of people aged 20 to 59 years reporting chronic low back pain. Axial spondyloarthritis, which affects around 1 percent of the U.S. population, is an important cause of back pain, with a characteristic pattern referred to as inflammatory back pain. Despite new and effective therapies available for the treatment of active axSpA, making early diagnosis of critical importance, a delay of several years between symptom onset and diagnosis is common in axSpA.

In this slideshow, we highlight a review of axSpA from Mayo Clinic Proceedings. The review aims to help primary care physicians detect this under recognized condition and know when to refer to a rheumatologist.

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REFERENCE

Marina N Magrey, Abhijeet S Danve,Joerg Ermann, et al. “Recognizing Axial Spondyloarthritis: A Guide for Primary Care.” Mayo Clinic Proceedings_{. July 29, 2000.doi:10.1016/j.mayocp.2020.02.007}