Evaluation of Emergent Musculoskeletal Symptoms in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: How Does Imaging Help?

The association of both axial and peripheral joint inflammation with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been well established since it was first described several decades ago, and the overall prevalence of spondyloarthritis (SpA) has been reported to range from 17% to 39%.^1,2 The prevalence of radiographic axial SpA (r-axSpA) among patients with IBD was 3% in a metaanalysis that included 43 studies, most of which were retrospective and cross-sectional studies, but some of which were prospective.²