5-year follow-up of spinal and sacroiliac MRI abnormalities in early axial spondyloarthritis: data from the DESIR cohort

• Published in: Rheumatic & musculoskeletal diseases open 2020-02, Vol.6 (1), p.e001093
• Main Authors: Madari, Queeny, Sepriano, Alexandre, Ramiro, Sofia, Molto, Anna, Claudepierre, Pascal, Wendling, Daniel, Dougados, Maxime, van der Heijde, Desirée, van Gaalen, Floris A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adipose Tissue - pathology; Adult; ankylosing spondylitis; Antirheumatic Agents - therapeutic use; Bone marrow; Bone Marrow Diseases - pathology; Clinical trials; Cohort Studies; Disease Progression; Edema; Edema - diagnosis; Female; Follow-Up Studies; HLA Antigens - analysis; Humans; Inflammation; Longitudinal Studies; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - statistics & numerical data; Male; MRI; Prospective Studies; Sacroiliac Joint - abnormalities; Sacroiliac Joint - diagnostic imaging; Sacroiliac Joint - pathology; Scleroderma; Spine - abnormalities; Spine - diagnostic imaging; Spine - pathology; Spondylarthritis - diagnosis; Spondylarthritis - drug therapy; Spondylarthritis - genetics; Spondyloarthritis; Statistical analysis; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF
• ISSN: 2056-5933; 2056-5933
• DOI: 10.1136/rmdopen-2019-001093

ObjectiveTo study changes on MRI of the spine and sacroiliac joint (SIJ) in early axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) over time.MethodsIn the Devenir des Spondyloarthropathies Indifférenciées Récentes cohort, MRI-spine and MRI-SIJ at baseline and 2 and 5 years were scored by central readers for bone marrow oedema (BME), fatty lesions, erosions, sclerosis, ankylosis and spinal bone spurs. The average mean number of lesions was reported or the agreement of ≥2 out of 3 readers for binary outcomes. Net progression was calculated by subtracting the patients that ‘improved’ from those that ‘worsened’ divided by the total number of patients.ResultsOver 5 years, in 155 patients with axSpA (mean age 33.5 (SD 8.9) years, symptom duration 1.4 (0.8) years, 63% human leucocyte antigen+, 14% modified New York+), BME on MRI-SIJ decreased by a mean Spondyloarthritis Research Consortium of Canada score of 1.4 (SD 6.5) (p=0.009). The largest BME decrease was observed in patients using biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs at 5 years. Spinal BME increased by 0.3 (4.6) (p=0.41). Fatty lesions and/or erosions on MRI-SIJ increased by a mean of 1.0 (SD 2.6) (p