EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS
Ankylosing spondylitis is a systemic inflammatory disease mainly involving the axial skeleton. Despite its wide prevalence, this disease is rarely diagnosed at early stages. At the first stage, the algorithm of early diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis comprises detection of the signs of the inflammatory pattern of pain in a patient with chronic back pain. At the same stage, a search for the common signs characteristic of all spondylarthritides is under way. At the second stage, sacroiliac articulation X-ray study is made in patients with pain of inflammatory nature. The presence of valid signs of sarcoileitis permits the diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis; when there are no X-ray changes, it is advisable to determine the state of HLA-B27 and to apply high-sensitive imaging techniques.