(Flares in Axial Spondyloarthritis – Treating with Effective Resources)
A team of researchers from the universities of Keeles, Nottingham, and Warwick has recently been awarded funding from the British Society of Rheumatology and University of Warwick for a new axSpA online study. They are looking for up to 10 clinical sites willing to recruit axSpA patients, starting in autumn/winter 2023. FASTER will be adopted by the CRN and count towards each Trust’s CRN research accruals.
FASTER will evaluate whether axSpA flares can be identified in patients completing a relatively short electronic patient reported outcome measure (PROM), every month for a year and additionally when their axSpA is flaring. All data collection will be completed via an online platform, so rheumatology department involvement would be relatively light-touch, only involving initial recruitment. It’s envisaged each department would recruit approx. 100-120 axSpA patients from their clinics over the course of four months. It’s anticipated findings from the study will lead to a larger interventional study, using PROMs to help triage flaring axSpA patients managed under Patient Initiated Follow Up (PIFU) schemes, to the most appropriate member of the clinical rheumatology team (physio/physician/nurse/etc.).
If your department is interested in taking part please contact Dr James Prior (j.a.prior@keele.ac.uk) or Professor Jon Packham (jon.packham@mpft.nhs.uk) for further information.
