Turkish League Against Rheumatism National Recommendations for the Management of Ankylosing Spondylitis
Hatice BODUR, 1 Filiz SİVAS, 1 Özlem YILMAZ, 1 Salih ÖZGÖÇMEN, 2 Rezzan GÜNAYDIN, 3 Taciser KAYA, 3 Şebnem ATAMAN, 4 Lale ALTAN, 5 Zuhal ALTAY, 6 Ece AYDOĞ, 7 Murat BİRTANE, 8 Pınar BORMAN, 9 Derya SOY BUĞDAYCI, 10 Bülent BÜTÜN, 11 Haşim ÇAKIRBAY, 12 Tuncay DURUÖZ, 13 Gülcan GÜRER, 14 Simin HEPGÜLER, 15 Ayhan KAMANLI, 16 Ömer KURU, 17 Ayşe KÜÇÜKDEVECİ, 18 Barış NACIR, 9 Neşe ÖLMEZ, 19 Aylin REZVANİ, 20 Burcu ÇÖREKÇİ YANIK12
1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Ankara Numune Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
2Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Erciyes University, Rheumatology Division, Kayseri, Turkey
3Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, İzmir Bozyaka Education and Research Hospital, İzmir, Turkey
4Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Ankara University, Rheumatology Division, Ankara, Turkey
5Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Uludağ University, Bursa, Turkey
6Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of İnönü University, Malatya, Turkey
7Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Yeditepe University, İstanbul, Turkey
8Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Trakya University, Edirne, Turkey
9Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Ankara Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
10İstanbul Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Education and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey
11Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Akdeniz University, Rheumatology Division, Antalya, Turkey
12Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Fatih University, Ankara, Turkey
13Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Celal Bayar University, Rheumatology Division, Manisa, Turkey
14Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Van State Hospital, Rheumatology Division, Van, Turkey
15Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Ege University, İzmir, Turkey
16Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Fırat University, Rheumatology Division, Elazığ, Turkey
17Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Ondokuz Mayıs University, Samsun, Turkey
18Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey
19Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, İzmir Atatürk Education and Research Hospital, İzmir, Turkey
20Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Medical Faculty of Bezmialem Vakıf University, İstanbul, Turkey
Keywords: Ankylosing spondylitis, national recommendations, treatment
Abstract
Objectives: To develop Turkish League Against Rheumatism (TLAR) National Recommendations for the management of ankylosing spondylitis (AS).
Materials and methods: A scientific committee of 25 experts consisting of six rheumatologists and 19 physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists was formed by TLAR. Recommendations were based on the 2006 ASsessment in Ankylosing Spondylitis International Working Group (ASAS)/European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) recommendations and a systematic review of associated publications between January 2005 and September 2010. A Delphi process was used to develop the recommendations. Twelve major recommendations were constructed for the management of AS. Voting using a numerical rating scale assessed the strength of each recommendation.
Results: The 12 recommendations include patient assessment, patient follow-up along with pharmacological and nonpharmacological methods. Some minor additions and changes have been made to the ASAS/EULAR recommendations. All of the recommendations had sufficient strength.
Conclusion: National recommendations for the management of AS were developed based on scientific evidence and consensus expert opinion. These recommendations will be updated regularly in accordance with recent developments.