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Objective: The diagnosis of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is hampered by diagnostic delay. Computed tomography (CT) undertaken for nonmusculoskeletal (non-MSK) indications in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) offers an opportunity to identify sacroiliitis for prompt rheumatology referral. This study aims to identify what proportion of patients with IBD who underwent abdominopelvic CT for non-MSK indications have axSpA and to explore the role of a standardized screening tool to prospectively identify axSpA on imaging., Methods: Abdominopelvic CT scans of patients with verified IBD, aged 18 to 55 years, performed for non-MSK indications were reviewed by radiologists for the presence of CT-defined sacroiliitis (CTSI), using criteria from a validated CT screening tool. All patients identified were sent a screening questionnaire, and those with self-reported chronic back pain (CBP), CBP duration of greater than 3 months, and age of onset of less than 45 years were invited for rheumatology review., Results: CTSI was identified in 60 out of 301 (19.9%) patients. Out of these 60 patients, 32 (53%) responded to an invitation to participate, and 27 out of 32 (84.3%) were enrolled. Of these, 8 had a preexisting axSpA diagnosis and 5 did not report CBP. In total, 14 patients underwent rheumatology assessment, and 3 out of 14 (21.4%, 95% CI 4.7-50.8) had undiagnosed axSpA. In total, 11 out of 27 (40.7%, 95% CI 22.4-61.2) patients had a rheumatologist-verified diagnosis of axSpA., Conclusion: In this study, 5% (3/60) of patients with IBD undergoing abdominopelvic CT for non-MSK indications with CTSI were found to have undiagnosed axSpA and, overall, 18.3% (11/60) were found to have axSpA. This reveals a significant hidden population of axSpA and highlights the need for a streamlined pathway from sacroiliitis detection to rheumatology referral., (Copyright © 2023 by the Journal of Rheumatology.)

Objective: To elucidate the prevalence of undiagnosed rheumatology-verified diagnosis of axial spondyloarthritis (RVD-axSpA) in patients attending routine secondary care IBD clinics with chronic back pain., Methods: Screening questionnaires were sent to consecutive patients attending IBD clinics in a university teaching hospital. Patients fulling the eligibility criteria (gastroenterologist-verified diagnosis, 18-80 years old, biologic therapy naive, no previous diagnosis of axSpA); and a moderate diagnostic probability of axSpA [self-reported chronic back pain (CBP) >3 months, onset <45 years] were invited for rheumatology assessment. This included medical review, physical examination, patient reported outcome measures, human leucocyte antigen B27, C-reactive protein, pelvic radiograph and axSpA protocol magnetic resonance imaging. A diagnosis of RVD-axSpA was made by a panel of rheumatologists., Results: Of the 470 patients approached, 91 had self-reported CBP >3 months, onset <45 years, of whom 82 were eligible for clinical assessment. The prevalence of undiagnosed RVD-axSpA in patients attending IBD clinics in a secondary care setting, with self-reported CBP, onset <45 years is estimated at 5% (95% CI 1.3, 12.0) with a mean symptom duration of 12 (s.d. 12.4) years., Conclusion: There is a significant hidden disease burden of axSpA among IBD patients. Appropriate identification and referral from gastroenterology is needed to potentially shorten the delay to diagnosis and allow access to appropriate therapy., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)