[ASAS recommendations on the use of TNF inhibitors for patients with axial spondyloarthritis : evaluation of the 2010 update in the German-speaking area]

The ASAS recommendations on the use of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors for patients with axial spondyloarthritis were amended in 2010. Essential new aspects have been included in the update. The diagnosis is extended from patients with ankylosing spondlitis (AS) to all patient groups of axial spondyloarthritis. Pretreatment with at least two non-steroidal anti-rheumatic drugs (NSARD) for 4 weeks is recommended. The success of therapy with TNF inhibitors is to be compiled after at least 12 weeks.This article presents the results of the evaluation of the German translation of these recommendations. A total of 25 experts from Germany, Austria and Switzerland have scored the translation on a scale between 0 (no agreement) and 10 (full agreement) with respect to the recommendation grade. The agreement on the recommendations between the experts was very high (8.98 ± 1.25).