[Early diagnostic criteria of ankylosing spondylitis in patients with acute anterior uveitis].

A group of 59 patients with acute anterior uveitis (AAU) were examined for ankylosing spondylitis (AS) according to the New York criteria und criteria for early diagnosis of AS: 17/59 (29%) presented AS according to the New York criteria: a further 13/59 (22%) were classified as having incipient AS according to the early diagnosis criteria. These findings indicate that in a group of AAU patients there are, in addition to patients with definite AS, patients with initial AS though X-rays of the sacroiliac joints are still negative or equivocal. Early diagnosis criteria seem to be useful for identification of these patients at an early stage and can be used as a major selection criterion for monitoring programs.