RADIOLOGICAL OUTCOME IN ANKYLOSING-SPONDYLITIS - USE OF THE STOKE ANKYLOSING-SPONDYLITIS SPINE SCORE (SASSS)

We investigated the role of the Stoke Ankylosing Spondylitis Spine Sco re (SASSS) in a longitudinal cohort study of 53 patients with AS, asse ssed 9 yr apart, and its relation to clinical, functional and laborato ry measures of disease activity and outcome. We also examined the long -term predictive value of quantitative sacroiliac scintigraphy (QSS). SASSS correlated closely with clinical measures, including occiput-wal l distance (OWD) (P < 0.001) and modified Schober (P < 0.0001). QSS wa s significantly correlated with final X-ray score (P < 0.05). SASSS ch anged significantly (9 < 0.001) over the study period; two patterns of change in spine score were discernible, one with little change in rad iological score and the other showing marked progression. The SASSS is a useful, valid score, which correlates with clinical outcome measure s and which has identified specific patterns of radiographic progressi on in AS.