QuikRead go point-of-care CRP is useful in the management of Ankylosing Spondyloarthritis

Ankylosing spondylitis is arthritis that primarily affects the spine. Treat-to-target and other clinical recommendations for spondyloarthritis suggest using Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS) for evaluation of the disease activity, and when making decisions of treatment modifications. In assessing ASDAS, C-reactive protein (CRP) or erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) measurement is required. Typically, CRP measurement is performed using routine laboratory CRP but it is time-consuming and does not allow decision making during the patient’s visit in healthcare. A recent study compared the performance of the ASDAS obtained either using fast QuikRead go CRP point-of-care (POC) test or laboratory ESR to routine laboratory CRP. The comparison of ASDAS scores calculated by CRP POC and laboratory CRP indicated that POC CRP correlated well with laboratory CRP and similar disease activity category was seen in 94% of the patients. This result was clearly better than the agreement between the laboratory CRP and ESR when only 68.8% of the patients were assigned in the same disease activity category. The study concludes that the CRP POC-based score allows the immediate evaluation of the disease activity and treatment decisions making the treat-to-target recommendation more feasible in clinical routine.

Link to original article: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbspin.2019.07.007