Classification and categorisation of psoriatic arthritis

Area of Science:

• Rheumatology
• Immunology
• Radiology

Background:

• Current classification criteria for spondyloarthritis, established by Moll and Wright over 30 years ago, are widely used but lack validation.
• Previous modifications to these criteria have often remained unvalidated or necessitated complex human leukocyte antigen (HLA) analysis.

Discussion:

• A global initiative has introduced novel spondyloarthritis classification criteria integrating both clinical and radiological findings.
• These new criteria demonstrate improved performance, potentially minimizing discrepancies between different research cohorts.
• The ongoing debate regarding disease heterogeneity persists, with suggestions to retain distinct peripheral and axial disease subgroups.

Key Insights:

• Development of new, validated spondyloarthritis classification criteria incorporating clinical and radiological data.
• Potential for reduced inter-study variability in spondyloarthritis research.
• Consideration of retaining and refining existing disease subgroupings (peripheral/axial, oligo-/polyarthritis).

Outlook:

• Further studies are necessary to fully validate and adopt the new classification criteria.
• The refined criteria may enhance the precision and comparability of spondyloarthritis research.
• Future research may focus on the optimal classification of disease heterogeneity within spondyloarthritis.