Name and Position

Professor Karl Gaffney
Consultants
Rheumatology

Contact Details

Main Telephone Number:01603 289670

Profile

Consultant Rheumatologist and Research Lead, NNUH

Honorary Professor, Norwich Medical School

Chair, Medical Advisory Board, National Axial Spondyloarthritis Society

Treasurer and Chair Elect, British Society for Spondyloarthritis

Associate Editor, Rheumatology

Department page: Rheumatology

Karl Gaffney (MB, BCh, BAO Hons, FRCPI, FRCP) has been a Consultant Rheumatologist in Norwich since 1995 where he is service lead for axial spondyloarthritis (including ankylosing spondylitis), adolescent rheumatology and osteoporosis. He is an Honorary Professor at Norwich Medical School, chair of the medical advisory board, National Axial Spondyloarthritis Society (www.nass.co.uk), founder member, treasurer and chair-elect of BRITSpA (www.britspa.co.uk), chair of the British Society for Rheumatology (BSR) axial SpA Biologics Guidelines Committee, member of the National Early Inflammatory Arthritis Project Working Group, vice-chair of the BSR Heberden Committee, associate editor Rheumatology (https://academic.oup.com/rheumatology), co-director and founder of the East of England and London Spondyloarthritis Academy (www.spaacademy.org), and an invited member of the Assessment of Spondyloarthritis International Society www.asas-group.org. He has also represented the BSR and NASS at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) appraisal of biological therapies since 2007. He was Rheumatology Service Director from 2008 until 2016, Director of Postgraduate Education in Norwich between 1999 and 2005, and Director of Rheumatology Training, Eastern Deanery between 2001 and 2007.

With NASS he has co-developed primary and secondary care educational programmes for healthcare professionals including Back Pain Seminars, Meeting in a Box, Back in Focus www.axialspabackinfocus.co.uk, Solving Spondyloarthritis www.arma.uk.net/nass-solving-spondyloarthropathy ,RCGP elearning modules, NASS Allies https://nass.co.uk/get-involved/campaign-with-us/nass-allies and Back Pain Plus www.nass.co.uk/back-pain-plus. These initiatives have been awarded national and European awards for excellence in healthcare communication. He is leading the NASS National Gold Standard Delay to Diagnosis project, launched at the House of Coommons in July 2020.

His current research interests include epidemiology, dose optimisation and extra-articular manifestations of axial SpA. He oversees a large clinical trials programme and collaborates with other national and international centres. He has published extensively and has been an invited speaker at national and international meetings.

GMC Number: 3622210

Secretary: Gillian Cobb

Recent publications:

Induction of Clinical Remission in Early Axial Spondyloarthritis following Certolizumab Pegol Treatment: 48-Week Outcomes from C-OPTIMISE. Landewe R, van der Heijde D, Dougados M, Baraliakos X, Van den Bosch P, Gaffney K, Davies O, de Peyrecave N, Baur L, Hoepken B, Thomas K, Gensler LS. Rheumatology and Therapy 2020; doi.org/10.1007/s40744-020-00214-7

BRITSpA at five. Keat A, Bennett A, Gaffney K, Jones G, Martindale J, Sengupta R, Siebert, Marzo-Ortega H. Rheumatology 2020; DOI: 10.1093/rheumatology/kez523

Smoking in spondyloarthritis: unravelling the complexities. Zhao S, Goodson N, Gaffney K. Rheumatology 2020; DOI: 10.1093/rheumatology/keaa093

Secukinumab use in patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis in real-world setting in Europe: baseline data from SERENA study. Kiltz U, Sfikakis P, Gaffney K, Sator P, von Kiedrowski R, Bounas A, Gullick N, Conrad C, Rigopoulos D, Lespessailles E, Romanelli M, Ghislain P-D, Brandt-Jürgens J, Rashkov R, Aassi M, Orsenigo R, Perella C, Pournara E, Gathmann S, Jagiello P, Veit J, Augustin M. Advances in Therapy 2020; 37: 2865–2883

Maintenance of Clinical Remission in Early Axial Spondyloarthritis Following Certolizumab Pegol Dose Reduction. Landewe R, van der Heijde D, Dougados M, Baraliakos X, Van den Bosch P, Gaffney K, Davies O, de Peyrecave N, Baur L, Hoepken B, Thomas K, Gensler LS. Ann Rheum Dis 2019; DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2019-216839

Prevalence and predictors of extra-articular manifestations and their influence on TNF-inhibitor prescribing patterns in axial spondyloarthritis: Results from the British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register. Derakhshan M, Siebert S, Dean L, Macfarlane GJ, Jones GT, Gaffney K. RMD Open 2020; DOI: 10.1136/rmdopen-2020-001206

Smoking does not protect axial spondyloarthritis patients from attacks of uveitis. Sizheng Zhao, Gary J Macfarlane, Gareth T Jones, Karl Gaffney, David M Hughes, Robert J Moots, Nicola J Goodson. Ann Rheum Dis 2019. DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2019-215348

Awareness of axial spondyloarthritis among chiropractors and osteopaths: findings from a UK web-based survey. Yong C, Hamilton J, Sengupta R, Griffiths K, Benepal J, Martindale J, Gaffney K. Awareness of axial spondyloarthritis among chiropractors and osteopaths: findings from a UK web-based survey. Yong C, Hamilton J, Sengupta R, Griffiths K, Benepal J, Martindale J, Gaffney K. Rheumatology Advances in Practice, rkz034, https://doi.org/10.1093/rap/rkz034

AxSpA patients who also meet criteria fibromyalgia: identifying distinct patient clusters using data from a UK national register (BSRBR-AS)

Macfarlane GJ, Pathan E, Siebert S, Packham J, Gaffney K, Choy E, Sengupta R, Atzenil F, Martin K, Jones GT, Dean L. BMC Rheumatology 2019; doi.org/10.1186/s41927-019-0066-7

Comment on: Tumour necrosis factor inhibitor survival and predictors of response in axial spondyloarthritis. Yaha F, Gaffney K, Hamilton L, Lonsdale E, Leeder J, Brooksby A, Cavill C, Berry-Jenkins J, Boyle C, Bond D, Sengupta R Rheumatology Advances in Practice, Volume 2, Issue 2, 2018, rky037, https://doi.org/10.1093/rap/rky037

Efficacy and safety of Ixekizumab in the Treatment of Radiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis: 16 Week Results of a Phase 3 Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo Controlled Trial in Patients with Prior Inadequate Response or Intolerance to Tumor Necrosis Factor Inhibitors. Deodhar A, Poddubnyy D, Pacheco-Tena C, Salvarani C, Lespessailles E, Rahman P, Jarvinen P, Sanchez Burson J, Gaffney K, Bong Lee E, Krishnan E, Santisteban S, Li X, Zhao F, Carlier H, Reveille J. Efficacy and safety of Ixekizumab in the Treatment of Radiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis: 16 Week Results of a Phase 3 Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo Controlled Trial in Patients with Prior Inadequate Response or Intolerance to Tumor Necrosis Factor Inhibitors. Deodhar A, Poddubnyy D, Pacheco-Tena C, Salvarani C, Lespessailles E, Rahman P, Jarvinen P, Sanchez Burson J, Gaffney K, Bong Lee E, Krishnan E, Santisteban S, Li X, Zhao F, Carlier H, Reveille J. Arthritis Rheumatol 2019;71(4):599 611.doi:10.1002/art.40753

Influence of co-morbid fibromyalgia on disease activity measures and response to TNF inhibitors in axial spondyloarthritis: results from a UK national register. Macfarlane GJ, MacDonald R, Pathan E, Siebert S, Gaffney K, Choy E, Martin KR, Haywood K, Sengupta R, Atzenil F, Jones GT. Rheumatology 2018; doi:10.1093/rheumatology/key206