HLA-B27 and spondyloarthropathy: value for early diagnosis?

The seronegative spondyloarthropathy complex The seronegative spondyloarthropathy complex embraces a group of inflammatory rheumatic disorders linked together by certain clinical, laboratory, and radiological manifestations. Clinically, the disorders are characterised by asymmetrical peripheral oligoarthritis and involvement of the sacroiliac joints (table 1). Manifestations in the eyes, mucocutaneous membranes, and genitourinary system not infrequently accompany the often predominant arthritis. The patients lack detectable rheumatoid factors in serum, hence the term "seronegative". Other serum autoantibodies, often found in inflammatory rheumatic diseases, are notably absent in the spondyloarthropathies. Unlike in rheumatoid arthritis, radiological examinations of peripheral joints rarely show destructive changes. However, radiological sacroiliitis is essential for the diagnosis ofmany of these diseases.