TY - JOUR T1 - Low-dose CT detects more progression of bone formation in comparison to conventional radiography in patients with ankylosing spondylitis: results from the SIAS cohort JF - Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases JO - Ann Rheum Dis SP - 293 LP - 299 DO - 10.1136/annrheumdis-2017-211989 VL - 77 IS - 2 AU - Anoek de Koning AU - Freek de Bruin AU - Rosaline van den Berg AU - Sofia Ramiro AU - Xenofon Baraliakos AU - Juergen Braun AU - Floris A van Gaalen AU - Monique Reijnierse AU - Désirée van der Heijde Y1 - 2018/02/01 UR - http://ard.bmj.com/content/77/2/293.abstract N2 - Objectives To compare the CT Syndesmophyte Score (CTSS) for low-dose CT (ldCT) with the modified Stoke Ankylosing Spondylitis Spine Score (mSASSS) for conventional radiographs (CR) in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS).Methods Patients with AS in the Sensitive Imaging in Ankylosing Spondylitis cohort had lateral cervical and lumbar spine CR and whole spine ldCT at baseline and 2 years. CR and ldCT images were scored by two readers, paired by patient, blinded to time order, per imaging modality. For the total score analysis, we used average scores of readers per corner on CR or quadrant on ldCT. For the syndesmophyte analysis we used individual reader and consensus scores, regarding new or growing syndesmophyte at the same corner/quadrant.Results 50 patients were included in the syndesmophyte analysis and 37 in the total score analysis. Mean (SD) status scores for mSASSS (range 0–72) and CTSS (range 0–552) at baseline were 17.9 (13.8) and 161.6 (126.6), and mean progression was 2.4 (3.8) and 17.9 (22.1). Three times as many patients showed new or growing syndesmophytes at ≥3 quadrants on ldCT compared with ≥3 corners on CR for individual readers; for consensus this increased to five times. In 50 patients, 36 new or growing syndesmophytes are seen on CR compared with 151 on ldCT, most being found in the thoracic spine.Conclusions ldCT, covering the whole spine, detects more progression in the form of new and growing syndesmophytes in patients with AS compared with CR, which is limited to the cervical and lumbar spine. Most progression occurred in the thoracic spine. ER -