Table 3.
Factors associated with rheumatologist referral time for patients with ankylosing spondylitis in multivariate analysis
| Predictora | HR (95 % CI) | P value |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 0.986 (0.981, 0.991) | <0.0001 |
| Sex (male vs female) | 1.15 (1.03, 1.29) | 0.0163 |
| Uveitis | 1.49 (1.13, 1.96) | 0.0050 |
| Specialty | ||
| PCP | 1.96 (1.64, 2.35) | <0.0001 |
| Pain management | 0.79 (0.69, 0.91) | 0.0013 |
| Prescribed drug therapy | ||
| NSAIDs | 1.55 (1.35, 1.77) | <0.0001 |
| DMARDs | 1.33 (1.16, 1.54) | <0.0001 |
| Opiate | 0.82 (0.72, 0.94) | 0.0048 |
| Anti-TNF | 1.40 (1.12, 1.76) | 0.0036 |
| Spinal/pelvic imaging procedure | ||
| X-ray | 1.28 (1.12, 1.46) | 0.0003 |
| CT scan | 0.71 (0.58, 0.87) | 0.0009 |
aOnly statistically significant predictors are presented
CI confidence interval, CT computed tomography, DMARDs disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, HR hazard ratio, NSAID non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, PCP primary care physician, TNF tumor necrosis factor