Suspecting and Diagnosing the Patient with Spondyloarthritis and What to Expect from Therapy

Spondyloarthritis is a common rheumatologic disease, present in up to 2% of the population, characterized by inflammatory arthritis, often with enthesitis, dactylitis, spondylitis, and skin disease. It has historically been characterized as ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, arthritis associated with inflammatory bowel disease, reactive arthritis, and undifferentiated spondyloarthritis. These subsets are now classified as axial-predominant and peripheral-predominant spondyloarthritis. This article provides an updated understanding of disease classification and practical advice about diagnosis to aid in the determination of which patients should be referred to rheumatology. It is important to provide patients the opportunity to have early and effective therapy.