Ankylosing spondylitis: correlations between clinical and MRI indices of sacroiliitis activity

•The ADC value of the AS patient is higher than that of the normal person.•The ADC value is correlated with the clinical AS activity index.•The DWI sequence can monitor the activity of AS with the advantages of lower scan time and without any intravenous contrast agent.

AimTo analyse the correlations between clinical and MRI sacroiliitis activity indices in ankylosing spondylitis (AS).Materials and methodsSixteen normal volunteers and 52 patients were enrolled. The clinical AS activity indices included the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) score, serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate. The MRI sacroiliitis activity indices included apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of bone and the Spondyloarthritis Research Consortium of Canada (SPARCC) score.ResultsThe mean SPARCC score of the control group was 0 and of the AS group was 9.9 ± 9.1 (range 0–36). The mean ADC value of the AS group was statistically significantly higher than that of the control group (49.7 ± 20.2 × 10−5 mm2/s versus 38.9 ± 5.3 × 10−5 mm2/s, p < 0.05). The BASDAI score showed a statistically significant correlation with the SPARCC score (r = 0.685, p < 0.05) and with ADC values (r = 0.329, p < 0.05). ADC values correlated with the SPARCC score (r = 0.390, p < 0.05).ConclusionADC values and the SPARCC index may be useful activity indices in AS.