Conclusion
Dr. Reveille concluded by noting how far rheumatologists have come in better understanding such conditions as nr-axSpA, but he also indicated that much remains to be done to best care for patients with this condition.
As in many other areas of rheumatology, patient-reported outcomes are, and will be, essential in understanding the patient’s experience with their disease, and allowing clinicians to have a reliable and validated tool to measure disease activity and change treatment plans accordingly.
The lecture was stimulating and helped demonstrate the importance of recognizing disease symptoms and signs early and not reflexively misattributing symptoms of inflammatory back pain to other etiologies. It is only by honing in on the inflammatory underpinnings of spondyloarthritis that clinicians will be able to help these patients, with the goal of getting them back to a higher quality of life.
Jason Liebowitz, MD, completed his fellowship in rheumatology at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, where he also earned his medical degree. He is currently in practice with Skylands Medical Group, N.J.
References
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