Comorbid Infections in Spondyloarthritis: the Current State of the Problem

Comorbid infections (CI) in immuno-inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IIRDs) are associated with significant morbidity and mortality and, in addition, involve significant costs in the health care system due to the need for additional treatment and hospitalization. The development of CI requires the temporary cancellation of ongoing immunosuppressive therapy, which can lead to an exacerbation of IIRD. High activity of rheumatic disease and treatment with immunosuppressive drugs may increase the risk of CI. Of particular interest is the study of the frequency, structure and risk factors in patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA) — ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA), especially in the aspect of the increasing use of biologics or targeted (b/tsDMARD) modifying disease agents and contradictory literature data.