Coccydynia in patients with axial spondyloarthritis: Reflection of enthesitis?

Objectives: In this study, we aimed to compare the Maastricht Ankylosing Spondylitis Enthesitis Score (MASES) values of patients with axial spondyloarthritis (ax-SpA) with and without coccydynia.

Methods: We included 42 cases between the ages of 18 to 65 that were admitted to our clinic between August 1, 2019 and April 20, 2020 with the diagnosis of ax-SpA. The first group consisted of 13 patients with coccydynia and the second group consisted of 29 patients without coccydynia. Besides the demographic data Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score-C-reactive protein (ASDAS-CRP), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI), and MASES values of the patients were recorded.

Results: We found that 13 (29.5%) of 42 patients with ax-SpA had coccydynia. While the rate of female patients in the coccydynia group was 46.15%, in the group without coccydynia, this rate was 31.03%. The mean of MASES, ASDAS-CRP, and BASFI values of the coccydynia group was statistically significantly higher than the group without coccydynia. We found that the BASFI was the most effective factor affecting the presence of coccydynia.

Conclusion: Our study supports the increased prevalence of coccydynia in patients with ax-SpA. In this study, we found that the presence of coccydynia may be associated with hypomobility rather than enthesitis.