Spondyloarthritis & psoriatic arthritis
Cervical spine instability in axial spondyloarthritis: prevalence, patterns, and predictive factors in a high-risk cohort
Study context
- Population
- Adult axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) patients with inflammatory back pain >10 years receiving biological or targeted synthetic therapy; concomitant spinal disease excludedAS 89.3%
- Participants
- 159 patients
- Outcome
- Frequency of cervical spine instability (CSI) on lateral neutral, full extension, full flexion and open-mouth AP cervical radiographs
Methodological detailssingle tertiary rheumatology unit, blinded radiograph assessment by two rheumatologists
- Single tertiary rheumatology unit
- Blinded radiograph assessment by two rheumatologists
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
CSI prevalence
- Patients with cervical spine instability (CSI) lesions
- 31 (19.5%)
- Total CSI lesions detected
- 33
- Anterior atlantoaxial subluxation (most common, % of lesions)
- 54.5%
- Subaxial subluxation (% of lesions)
- 33.3%
- Vertical subluxation (% of lesions)
- 6.1%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Factors associated with CSI, univariate logistic regression
- Disease duration
- P = 0.004
- Age at first symptom
- P = 0.02
- Uveitis
- P = 0.049
- Sacroiliitis stage
- P = 0.039
Independent predictor of CSI, multivariate analysis
- Disease duration (potential independent predictor)
- P = 0.027
Original publication
Cervical spine instability in axial spondyloarthritis: prevalence, patterns, and predictive factors in a high-risk cohort. Scand J Rheumatol. Published 19 June 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →