ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS-MANAGEMENT

SUMMARY

1. Goal: to help patients fuse their spines in a functional position. Treatments include stretching exercises, posture training, and proper pillow positioning during sleep.

2. NSAIDs or COX-2 for pain and stiffness. NSAIDs have been shown to retard radiologic progression.

3. Peripheral disease should be given a trial of therapy with sulfasalazine or methotrexate.

4. Axial disease usually should be treated with TNF inhibitors.

Reference(s)

Wilkinson, I., Furmedge, D. and Sinharay, R. (2017). Oxford handbook of clinical medicine. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Get it on Amazon.
Feather, A., Randall, D. and Waterhouse, M. (2020). Kumar And Clark’s Clinical Medicine. 10th ed. S.L.: Elsevier Health Sciences. Get it on Amazon.
Hannaman, R. A., Bullock, L., Hatchell, C. A., & Yoffe, M. (2016). Internal medicine review core curriculum, 2017-2018. CO Springs, CO: MedStudy.
Therapeutic Guidelines. Melbourne: Therapeutic Guidelines Limited. https://www.tg.org.au [Accessed 2021].