• Bora Nam, Tae-Hwan Kim, Sung Won Lee, Hyunah Kim, Yun Jin Kim, Jae-Bum Jun, and Seunghun Lee.
• From the Department of Rheumatology, Hanyang University Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases.
• J Clin Rheumatol. 2020 Dec 8.

Background/AimsTo assess the efficacy and safety of intra-articular sacroiliac glucocorticoid injection in ankylosing spondylitis (AS).MethodsPatients with AS undergoing fluoroscopy-guided intra-articular sacroiliac glucocorticoid injection were enrolled between 2012 and 2018. Efficacy was assessed by numeric pain rating scale, acute phase reactants, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index, and Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS). Patients who started biologics within 3 months despite the intervention were compared with those not starting biologics, hence: the nonbiologic group.ResultsA total of 96 patients were treated, with a total of 107 injections. After intervention, there were significant decreases in numeric pain rating scale (7.8 ± 1.8 vs. 3.3 ± 2.2, p < 0.001) and acute phase reactants level (erythrocyte sedimentation rate [ESR] 23.0 mm/h [10.0-47.0 mm/h] vs. 13.0 mm/h [4.0-27.0 mm/h], p < 0.001; C-reactive protein [CRP] 1.0 mg/dL [0.2-2.7 mg/dL] vs. 0.2 mg/dL [0.2-0.9 mg/dL], p < 0.001). Disease activity scores also decreased for BASDAI (6.2 ± 1.8 vs. 4.5 ± 2.5, p = 0.001), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (5.5 [4.1-7.0] vs. 1.8 [0.5-4.1], p = 0.001), ASDAS-CRP (2.9 ± 1.0 vs. 2.3 ± 1.3, p = 0.046), and ASDAS-ESR (3.7 ± 1.1 vs. 2.4 ± 1.3, p < 0.001). However, 12 patients (12.5%) started biologics within 3 months. These patients showed higher ESR (91.0 mm/h [IQR 21.0-113.0 mm/h] vs. 21.5 mm/h [IQR 9.5-43.0 mm/h], p = 0.010), CRP (8.0 mg/dL [IQR 1.11-17.1 mg/dL] vs. 0.8 mg/dL [IQR 0.2-1.8 mg/dL], p = 0.002), BASDAI (7.4 ± 1.2 vs. 5.9 ± 1.8, p = 0.027), and ASDAS-CRP (4.0 ± 0.5 vs. 2.8 ± 1.0, p = 0.004) than the nonbiologic group. There was no serious adverse event.ConclusionsIntra-articular sacroiliac glucocorticoid injection can be a safe and effective treatment option for active sacroiliitis in AS.

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