Do patients with non‐radiographic axial spondylarthritis differ from patients with ankylosing spondylitis?

Abstract

Patients with nr-axSpA were characterized by the low proportion of male patients and the low burden of inflammation compared to patients with AS. While both groups did not differ regarding health status, disease activity, and physical function, they did differ in signs of inflammation; all were higher in patients with AS. Since many patients with nr-axSpA had not developed structural changes after years of symptoms, we propose that those patients should not be regarded as having preradiographic AS but rather as having nr-axSpA.