Comparison of clinical features in HLA‐B27 positive and negative patients with ankylosing spondylitis

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Abstract
The clinical features of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) were compared in 63 HLA‐B 27 positive (+) and 15 B27 negative (−) individuals with this disease. There were no differences in age at onset, functional class, degree of deformity, pain, severity of X‐ray changes, or frequency of peripheral joint involvement or of reconstructive orthopedic surgery. These data demonstrated that skeletal manifestations of AS were essentially the same in B27(+) and (−) patients, and provide no evidence for the speculation that AS in B27(−) patients is milder or is a different disease from that occurring in B27(+) patients. On the other hand, acute anterior uveitis was found to be significantly more common in B27(+) patients, a fact suggesting that the “uveitis of AS” may in fact be an independent condition occurring in B27(+) individuals, rather than a manifestation of AS per se.