Spondyloarthritides
1. Big picture
Spondyloarthritides (SpA) are a family of inflammatory rheumatic diseases that mainly affect the axial skeleton, sacroiliac joints, entheses, and peripheral lower-limb joints.
The classic exam pattern is:
Young patient + inflammatory back pain + morning stiffness + sacroiliitis ± enthesitis ± uveitis ± psoriasis ± inflammatory bowel disease ± preceding infection.
SpA is traditionally called seronegative spondyloarthritis because rheumatoid factor (RF) is usually negative. It is strongly associated with HLA-B27, especially ankylosing spondylitis and axial SpA.
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