OBJECTIVES: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is an inflammatory disease affecting the spine with multisystemic implications. The objective of this research was to characterize treatment patterns of AS patients in the real-world setting.

METHODS: Patients from specialty and integrated delivery networks within the OMNY Health Database with a diagnosis code for AS (ICD-10: M45*) from 2017-2023 were selected. Patients were characterized at first AS diagnosis code. Percentages of patients with prescriptions for following treatments at encounters associated with AS were computed: analgesics/opioids (ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac, etoricoxib, acetaminophen, codeine), tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha inhibitors (adalimumab, certolizumab, etanercept, golimumab, infliximab), and interleukin (IL) inhibitors (ixekizumab, secukinumab).

RESULTS: A total of 6,171 patients and 7,919 AS-associated encounters were included. Distributions of gender (49% female), race (86% White, 7% Black, 7% Other among known categories), and age (39% > 60 years, 59% 21-60 years, 2% < 21 years) were tabulated. Analgesics/opioids were prescribed at 16% of AS-associated encounters, while TNF alpha inhibitors and IL inhibitors were prescribed at 5% and 1% of AS-associated encounters, respectively. Acetaminophen (11%), adalimumab (3%), and secukinumab (1%) were the most commonly prescribed therapies of each class.

CONCLUSIONS: Results provide insights into real-world therapeutic management of AS in the real-world setting. Future analyses characterizing healthcare resource utilization and associated costs would be helpful to understand the treatment landscape and economic burden of AS.