Medical Treatment of Ankylosing Spondylitis

The diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis is often delayed due to ambiguous clinical manifestations and strict diagnostic criteria. However, imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging have been found effective for the early diagnosis of non-radiographic sacroiliitis. New tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) inhibitors have good efficacy for patients with persistently high disease activity despite conventional nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug treatment. Thus, early diagnosis and aggressive treatments are essential for ankylosing spondylitis patients. Because many patients complain of musculoskeletal pains, especially around the sacroiliac joint area, hip specialists should be informed of up-to-date knowledge. In this review, we discuss new diagnostic criteria for ankylosing spondylitis, administration methods of TNF-α inhibitors, and the long-term follow-up results for patients treated with TNF-α inhibitors.