High Prevalence of Previously Undiagnosed Axial Spondyloarthritis in Patients Referred With Anterior Uveitis and Chronic Back Pain: The SpEYE Study.

OBJECTIVE: To reduce the diagnostic delay in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), guidelines recommend referring patients with acute anterior uveitis (AAU) and chronic back pain (CBP) to a rheumatologist. This observational study in daily practice evaluated the prevalence of previously unrecognized axSpA in patients with AAU who were referred by ophthalmologists because of concurrent CBP. METHODS: All patients with AAU referred with CBP (≥ 3 months, age of onset < 45 yrs) from 5 ophthalmology clinics underwent rheumatologic assessment, including pelvic radiographs. Patients with previously diagnosed rheumatic disease and AAU due to other causes were excluded. The primary endpoint was a clinical axSpA diagnosis by the rheumatologist. RESULTS: Eighty-one patients fulfilled the referral criteria (52% male, 56% HLA-B27 positive, median age 41 yrs, median CBP duration 10 yrs). In total, 58% (n = 47) had recurring AAU, of whom 87% already had CBP during previous AAU attacks. After assessment, 23% (n = 19) of patients were clinically diagnosed with definite axSpA (10/19 radiographic), 40% (n = 32) with suspicion of axSpA, and 37% (n = 30) with no axSpA. AxSpA was diagnosed more often in men (33% of the men vs 13% of the women). CONCLUSION: A high prevalence of axSpA was found in patients with AAU referred because of CBP. There was substantial diagnostic delay in the majority of patients with recurring AAU, as many already had CBP during previous AAU flares. In AAU, screening for CBP and prompt referral has a high diagnostic yield and should consistently be promoted among ophthalmologists.

Multidisciplinary management of auto-immune ocular diseases in adult patients by ophthalmologists and rheumatologists.

PURPOSE: Management of chronic vision threatening auto-immune ocular diseases (AIOD, e.g. uveitis, scleritis) can be challenging. Guidelines recommend a multidisciplinary approach (MDA) with ophthalmologists and rheumatologists, to enhance the recognition of systemic diseases and guide the use of immunosuppressives. However, the indications and results of such an approach have not yet been studied. METHODS: A monocentre, retrospective chart review of all patients treated in a MDA between ophthalmologists and rheumatologists, in a Dutch tertiary center. The collaboration was twofold: a combined multidisciplinary team meeting every 2 weeks, and an ophthalmology-dedicated rheumatology outpatient clinic. Primary endpoints of this descriptive study were as follows: indications for MDA, new diagnoses of systemic auto-immune diseases and changes in systemic immunosuppression and prednisone dosages. RESULTS: In total, 157 adults (mean age 46 years, 57% female, median disease duration 19 months) were included, mainly with uveitis (74%) and scleritis (12%). Multidisciplinary approach (MDA)-indications included diagnostic workup (32%), treatment support (44%), diagnostic-and-treatment support (10%) and side effects (8%). A systemic disease was newly diagnosed in eight and already present in 34 patients. At baseline, 54 patients used oral prednisone at >7.5 mg/day. Non-corticoid immunosuppressives, mostly methotrexate, were started in 41% of the patients. During follow-up, systemic prednisone was lowered to ≤7.5 mg/day in 68% of the patients. CONCLUSION: This evaluation of an MDA-programme in the management of AIOD demonstrated its added value. Mainly, it addressed the high demand for support in managing systemic immunosuppression, resulting in significant corticosteroid tapering. In addition, it resulted in the recognition of underlying systemic diseases.