Symposium ArticleEpidemiology of Spondyloarthropathies in Central America
Section snippets
METHODS
In this retrospective analysis, we reviewed 233 patients who fulfilled the criteria proposed by the American College of Rheumatology for the classification of SpA.2 From Guatemala City, we obtained information from 2 centers: the Guatemalan Association against Rheumatic Diseases (AGAR), a public facility specializing in patients with rheumatic diseases of low income; and the clinical practice of one of the authors (AGK). In El Salvador, we obtained data from the Instituto Salvadoreño del Seguro
RESULTS
A total of 233 patients were included in this review; most of them were from Guatemala City (n = 183), but 17 patients were from El Salvador and 33 from Costa Rica (Table 1). Table 2 shows the distribution by sex; although the distribution of the total group was reasonably balanced (males 46%, n = 106; females 54%, n = 127), differences were observed by country. At the Guatemala AGAR clinic, most of the patients were females (79%); however, at the Guatemala AGK clinic and in El Salvador, most
DISCUSSION
We believe that SpA occur frequently in Central America but that most cases are overlooked because not all symptoms occur simultaneously and may not be observed over prolonged periods of time. In our review, we observed that a large number of patients did not come back for follow-up, particularly younger patients with an acute presentation.
Because SpAs can affect people in their productive and sexual active life and can progress to a chronic incapacitating condition, we need to improve our
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors thank the patients included in this review and Ana Lucía Guzman, MD, and Mrs. Lissette Girlinger who helped us to collect the information from patients’ medical records.
REFERENCES (4)
- et al.
Spondyloarthropathies
Ankylosing Spondylitis
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