Enhancing diagnostic accuracy in axial spondyloarthritis through centralised clinical and imaging evaluation: results from a prospective multicentre project.
Poddubnyy D · 2026 · Annals of the rheumatic diseases
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What this paper found
When 969 suspected cases of axial spondyloarthritis were re-reviewed by a central expert panel, a third of the local diagnoses were overturned, usually because imaging had been over-read and the back pain was mechanical, while most local rulings-out were confirmed. Misdiagnosis in both directions is common enough that a second expert look at the scans is worth asking for when the diagnosis feels uncertain.
Why this is on the map
Rare direct measurement of how often an axSpA diagnosis is wrong, and why; sits alongside the MRI-definition review.
On the map under this thread
DOI: 10.1016/j.ard.2026.06.019 · opens in a new tab. The full paper is on the publisher’s site, not here.
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