X Baraliakos

The European League against Rheumatism (EULAR) has developed management recommendations for various rheumatic conditions in the past decade1,–,6 based on standard operating procedures published some years ago.7 The basis for the methodology is the AGREE instrument.8 A systematic literature review (SLR) serves as the basis for the expert discussions and the consensus process.9,–,11 The Assessments in Ankylosing Spondylitis International Society (ASAS), which published a core set of endpoints...

The field of spondyloarthritis (SpA) has experienced major progress in the last decade, especially with regard to new treatments, earlier diagnosis, imaging technology and a better definition of outcome parameters for clinical trials.

This first update of the ASAS/EULAR recommendations on the management of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is based on the original paper, a systematic review of existing recommendations and the literature since 2005 and the discussion and agreement among 21 international experts, 2 patients and 2 physiotherapists in a meeting in February 2010. Each original bullet point was discussed in detail and reworded if necessary. Decisions on new recommendations were made — if necessary after voting.