2022 French Society for Rheumatology (SFR) recommendations on the everyday management of patients with spondyloarthritis, including psoriatic arthritis

Abstract

Objective: Update the French Society for Rheumatology (SFR) recommendations on the everyday management of patients with spondyloarthritis, including psoriatic arthritis.

Methods: Following standardized procedures, a systematic literature review was done by four supervised rheumatology residents based on questions defined by a task force of 16 attending rheumatologists. The findings were reviewed during three working meetings that culminated in each recommendation receiving a grade and the level of agreement among experts being determined.

Results: Five general principles and 15 recommendations were developed. They take into account pharmacological and non-pharmacological measures along with treatment methods based on the dominant phenotype present (axial, articular, enthesitis/dactylitis) and the extra-articular manifestations (psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, uveitis). NSAIDs are the first-line pharmacological treatment in the various presentations. Conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs) are not indicated in the axial and isolated entheseal forms. If the response to conventional treatment is not adequate, targeted therapies (biologics, synthetics) should be considered; the indications depend on the clinical phenotype and presence of extra-articular manifestations.

Conclusion: This update incorporates recent data (published since the prior update in 2018) and the predominant clinical phenotype concept. It aims to help physicians with the everyday management of patients affected by spondyloarthritis, including psoriatic arthritis.

Keywords: Arthritis; Dactylitis; Enthesitis; Psoriatic arthritis; Recommendations; Spondyloarthritis; Treatment.