Ankylosing spondylitis and systemic sclerosis: a rare combination

Successful use of tofacitinib in the treatment of diffuse systemic sclerosis and axial spondyloarthritis: a case-based review

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune rheumatic disease characterised by vasculopathy, inflammation and fibrosis in multiple organs and occasionally coexists with rheumatic conditions, such as axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). The aim of this study was to demonstrate the successful use of tofacitinib in SSc and axial spondylarthritis (axSpa), as a novel therapeutic agent; however, further studies are needed to elucidate the role of JAK inhibition in the treatment of both conditions. In this paper, we report a case of a 58-year-old woman with diffuse SSc who developed axSpA. The patient had a 10-year history of SSc and was treated with tocilizumab before the onset of lower back pain. The diagnostic evaluation included MRI that demonstrated bone marrow oedema in the sacroiliac joints, the HLA-B27 was positive, and given the inflammatory features of her back pain, she was diagnosed with axSpa. The biologic agent was switched into etanercept with an improvement of the back pain; however, the patient had a relapse of her skin manifestations. Given the treatment failure, we aim to treat the 2 coexisting conditions concurrently with tofacitinib, which led to symptom improvement. This case report is noteworthy, given the rarity of the coexistence of both conditions and the therapeutic challenges faced by the clinician. The online database MEDLINE/PubMed and Scopus where searched for articles published from inception to June 2020, using the terms "ankylosing spondylitis" AND "systemic sclerosis" OR "axial spondyloarthritis" AND "systemic sclerosis". Also, we searched the American College of Rheumatology and European League Against Rheumatism annual meeting abstracts from 2015 to 2019 using the same terms. As a result, we found 9 similar case reports. 9 case reports of patients with both conditions were identified through a literature review and we highlighted the differences and similarities between them. Also, we emphasise on intracellular signalling inhibitors as novel therapeutic targets in treating both conditions. Tofacitinib might be a novel therapeutic agent in the management of SSc and axSpA.

Patient with ankylosing spondylitis and scleroderma renal crisis

We report a 56-year-old man with a history of ankylosing spondylitis and systemic scleroderma. The patient had been diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis 20 years ago and had been receiving treatment with NSAIDs and anti TNFα drugs. He referred to our rheumatology department for Raynaud’s phenomenon, arthralgias and weight loss. Physical examination revealed stiffness of the skin with difficulty in pinching (mainly at lower extremities, from knee to ankle). Soon after his first visit to our department, he developed renal scleroderma crisis with abrupt increase in blood pressure, decline in renal function, and microangiopathic haemolytic anaemia in accordance with positive antinuclear autoantibodies and positive anti-topoisomerase I antibody (anti-Scl70). This is one of the few reports in the literature of coexistence of ankylosing spondylitis and systemic scleroderma. A genetic correlation seems to be an explanation in some patients who carry one or two susceptibility alleles to both diseases. Thus, this might be the case of a ‘genetic trap’ in which distinct genes are cooperating to favour the susceptibility to two different HLA-associated systemic autoimmune diseases.

Sacroiliac joint involvement in systemic sclerosis

AIM

One of the major problems for systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients is suggested to be articular involvement. Mostly involved joints in SSc were reported as wrist, carpometacarpal-interphalangeal, foot, knee, hip and shoulder; however, there has been little knowledge on the sacroiliac joint. Our aim was to evaluate sacroiliac joint involvement in SSc.

METHODS

Fifty-seven SSc patients, 54 rheumatoid arthritis patients and 64 healthy subjects were included. Anteroposterior pelvic radiographs were obtained and graded twice by three blinded rheumatologists. One competent radiologist has re-evaluated the X-ray results. The ASAS (Assessment of Spondylo Arthritis International Society) scoring method was applied for grading sacroiliac involvement. Inflammatory back pain was also evaluated. Other clinical and laboratory data were collected as proposed by the European Study Group.

RESULTS

In the SSc group sacroiliitis was found in 13 patients (23%) and was significantly different from RA patients (two patients, 4%), P = 0.003; and the healthy control group (one participant, 2%), P < 0.001. The frequency of inflammatory back pain in SSc patients with sacroiliitis (8/13 patients, 62%) was significantly higher in SSc patients without sacroiliitis (4/44 patients, 9%), P < 0.001. The SSc patients with sacroiliitis and with inflammatory back pain (8/57 patients, 14%) were regarded as axial spondyloarthritis overlap. Male gender, diffuse subtype, inflammatory back pain and high C-reactive protein levels (odds ratio: 1.069, 1.059, 1.059 and 3.698, respectively) were found to be the significant risk factors for sacroiliitis.

CONCLUSION

We suggest that, sacroiliitis may be a concern to be considered in SSc practice.