Which domains are included in the core set for axial spondyloarthritis?

Several domains that should be taken into account for the core outcome set of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) have been selected by patients and axSpA experts, reports a study.

The following domains were selected for the symptom-modifying therapies setting: pain, physical function, disease activity, stiffness, mobility, peripheral manifestations, and overall functioning and health. For the disease-modifying therapies setting, six domains were chosen: physical function, disease activity, mobility, structural damage, peripheral manifestations, and extramusculoskeletal manifestations.

Both patients and experts selected these domains. Of note, patients chose all offered domains except emotional function.

In this study, the investigators conducted a three-round Delphi survey to gather opinions of 188 patients and 188 axSpA experts to define the most relevant disease domains to be included in the core set. The survey assessed two separate research settings: studies evaluating symptom-modifying therapies and those evaluating disease-modifying therapies.

Participants rated the importance of the domains on a 1–9 Likert scale. A domain was considered for inclusion if ≥70 percent of participants scored the domain as critical (7–9) and ≤15 percent scored it as not important (1–3) after three rounds.

“Advances in the field of axSpA and the methodology to develop core sets have led the Assessment of SpondyloArthritis international Society group to update the ASAS–Outcomes in Rheumatology core set,” the investigators said. “The first step was to define the most relevant disease domains.”