Trial reportPloS one2020
The IMPACT study: A clustered randomized controlled trial to assess the effect of a referral algorithm for axial spondyloarthritis.
Trial report in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01944163 (The IMPACT of a Referral Model for Axial Spondyloarthritis in Young Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain - a Cluster Randomized Trial), which is not on this map. Cited by 7 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The IMPACT of a Referral Model for Axial Spondyloarthritis in Young Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain - a Cluster Randomized Trial
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Interventions to improve referrals from primary care to outpatient specialist services for chronic conditions: a systematic review and framework synthesis update.Systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Increase in axial spondyloarthritis diagnoses after the introduction of the ASAS criteria: a systematic review.Rheumatology international · 2023Pooled it
- Article
- Design and validation of a referral algorithm for inflammatory arthritis and low back pain: identifying gaps in primary care practices.Clinical rheumatology · 2026Article
- A mixed methods study to uncover impediments to accurate diagnosis of nonradiographic axial spondyloarthritis in the USA.Clinical rheumatology · 2023Article
- Primary care physician perspectives on screening for axial spondyloarthritis: A qualitative study.PloS one · 2021Article
- Axial spondyloarthritis 10 years on: still looking for the lost tribe.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundA substantial number of patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP) have axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), but early recognition of these patients is difficult for general practitioners (GPs). The Case Finding Axial Spondyloarthritis (CaFaSpA) referral strategy has shown to be able to identify patients with CLBP at risk for axSpA, but its impact on clinical daily practice is yet unknown.
objectiveTo assess the effect of the CaFaSpA referral strategy on pain caused by disability in primary care patients with CLBP.
methodsWithin this clustered randomized controlled trial 93 general practices were randomized to either the CaFaSpA referral model (intervention) or usual primary care (control). In each group primary care patients between 18 and 45 years with CLBP were included. The primary outcome was disability caused by CLBP, measured with the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) at baseline and four months. Secondary outcome was the frequency of new axSpA diagnosis. Descriptive analyses were performed, and a linear mixed-effects model was used.
resultsIn total 679 CLBP patients were included of which 333 patients were allocated to the intervention group and 346 to the control group. Sixty-four percent were female and mean age was 36.2 years. The mean RMDQ score at baseline was 8.39 in the intervention group and 8.61 in the control group. At four months mean RMDQ score was 7.65 in the intervention group and 8.15 in the control group. This difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.50). Six (8%) out of the 75 finally referred patients, were diagnosed with axSpA by their rheumatologist.
conclusionsThe CaFaSpA referral strategy for axSpA did not have an effect on disability after four months caused by CLBP. However, the strategy is able to detect the axSpA patient within the large CLBP population sufficiently. Trial registration number: NCT01944163, Clinicaltrials.gov.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.