Background: All the developments achieved in the field of spondyloarthritis during the last decade have generated new terms, abbreviations or acronyms. At present, the nomenclature used to define these new concepts in the English-speaking world is uniformly established and accepted, but this is not the case in the Spanish-speaking world. This lack of consensus and standardisation has negative consequences in our field and leads to misunderstandings.

Aim: To develop a consensus to standardize the use of Spanish terms, abbreviations and acronyms in the field of spondyloarthritis (SpA).

Methodology: An international task force comprising all native Spanish-speaking Assessment of SpondyloArthritis International Society (ASAS) members, the executive committee of Grupo para el estudio de la Espondiloartritis de la Sociedad Española de Reumatología (GRESSER), two methodologists, two linguists from the Real Academia Nacional de Medicina de España (RANM) and two patients from the Spanish Coordinator of Spondylitis Associations (CEADE) was established. A literature review was performed to identify the conflicting terms/abbreviations/acronyms in SpA. This review examined written sources in Spanish including manuscripts, ICF and ICD, guidelines, recommendations and consensuses. This was followed by a nominal group meeting and a three-round Delphi. The recommendations from the RANM based on the Panhispanic dictionary were followed throughout the process.

Results: Consensus was reached for 46 terms, abbreviations or acronyms related to the field of SpA. A Spanish translation was accepted for 6 terms and 6 abbreviations to name or classify the disease, and for 6 terms and 4 abbreviations related to SpA. It was agreed not to translate 15 acronyms into Spanish. However, when mentioning them, it was recommended to follow this structure: type of acronym on Spanish and acronym and expanded form in English. With regard to 7 terms or abbreviations attached to acronyms, it was agreed to translate only the expanded form and a translation was also selected for each of them.

Conclusions: Through this standardization, it is expected to establish a common use of the Spanish nomenclature for SpA. The implementation of this consensus across the community will be of substantial benefit, avoiding misunderstandings and time-consuming processes.

Timelines of the project: 2016-2018

Project Team

PI: Victoria Navarro Compán (Madrid, Spain)

Working group:

Victoria Navarro Compán (Madrid, Spain)

Teresa Otón (Madrid, Spain)

Estíbaliz Loza (Madrid, Spain)

Raquel Almodóvar (Madrid, Spain)

Rafael Ariza-Ariza (Sevilla, Spain)

Wilson Bautista-Molano (Bogota, Colombia)

Rubén Burgos-Vargas (Mexico City, Mexico)

Eduardo Collantes-Estévez (Córdoba, Spain)

Eugenio de Miguel (Madrid, Spain)

Carlos González-Fernández (Madrid, Spain)

Jordi Gratacós (Barcelona, Spain)

Sebastián Ibáñez (Santiago de Chile, Chile)

Xavier Juanola (Barcelona, Spain)

Jose Maldonado-Cocco (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Anna Moltó (Paris, France)

Juan Mulero (Madrid, Spain)

César Pacheco-Tena (Chihuahua, Mexico)

César Ramos-Remus (Mexico City, Mexico)

Jesús Sanz-Sanz (Madrid, Spain)

Rafael Valle-Oñate (Bogota, Colombia)

Pedro Zarco (Madrid, Spain)

Helena Marzo-Ortega (Leeds, UK)

Publications

1. Navarro-Compán V, Otón T, Loza E, Almodóvar R, Ariza-Ariza R, Bautista-Molano W, Burgos-Vargas R, Collantes-Estévez E, de Miguel E, González-Fernández C, Gratacós J, Ibáñez S, Juanola X, Maldonado-Cocco J, Moltó A, Mulero J, Pacheco-Tena C, Ramos-Remus C, Sanz-Sanz J, Valle-Oñate R, Zarco P, Marzo-Ortega H. Assessment of SpondyloArthritis International Society (ASAS) Consensus on Spanish Nomenclature for Spondyloarthritis. Reumatol Clin (Engl Ed). 2020 Sep-Oct;16(5 Pt 1):333-338. English, Spanish. doi: 10.1016/j.reuma.2018.07.014. Epub 2018 Sep 5. PMID: 30193774.