GPs have been provided with new guidance on how to improve the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in adults.
The guidelines from clinical standards watchdog the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the National Collaborating Centre for Chronic Conditions promise to help thousands of people with the condition.
The new guidance sets out how best to identify rheumatoid arthritis, which treatments and therapies are effective, and when surgery should be considered.
Around 400,000 people in the UK have RA and over twice as many women as men suffer from the condition.
The guideline recommends that clinicians should refer for specialist opinion any person with suspected persistent synovitis of undetermined cause. They should also refer urgently if they observe the small joints of the hands or feet being affected; more than one joint affected; or there has been a delay of three months or longer between onset of symptoms and seeking medical advice.
Another recommendation in cases of people with newly diagnosed active RA is to offer a combination of disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs as first-line treatment as soon as possible, ideally within three months of the onset of persistent symptoms.
Doctors are also advised that:
• people with RA should have access to specialist physiotherapy, with periodic review
• people with RA should have access to a multidisciplinary team providing the opportunity for periodic assessments of the effect of the disease on their lives and access to a named member of the team such as the specialist nurse, who is responsible for coordinating their care.
Dr Louise Warburton, a GP who is a specialist in RA and helped develop the guideline, said: “It can be difficult to distinguish early rheumatoid arthritis symptoms from other conditions, but this guideline will help GPs to diagnose the condition early on.
“The guideline sets out a clear care pathway, and reminds health professionals to also discuss the wider impacts of the disease on the individual’s lifestyle, all of which will benefit patients enormously.”
Dr Michael Rudolf, chair of the guideline development group, said: “This new guideline will help make sure that everyone with rheumatoid arthritis benefits from a consistent national approach to managing the condition.
“This guideline sets standards for the best ways to support and treat patients with RA, thus helping to end the existing variation in practice and improving standards of care.”
Copyright OnMedica Group Ltd 2009
February 25, 2009
U.K.: GPs get guidelines on how to deal with rheumatoid arthritis
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BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, England / OnMedica News / February 25, 2009
GPs have been provided with new guidance on how to improve the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in adults.
The guidelines from clinical standards watchdog the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the National Collaborating Centre for Chronic Conditions promise to help thousands of people with the condition.
The new guidance sets out how best to identify rheumatoid arthritis, which treatments and therapies are effective, and when surgery should be considered.
Around 400,000 people in the UK have RA and over twice as many women as men suffer from the condition.
The guideline recommends that clinicians should refer for specialist opinion any person with suspected persistent synovitis of undetermined cause. They should also refer urgently if they observe the small joints of the hands or feet being affected; more than one joint affected; or there has been a delay of three months or longer between onset of symptoms and seeking medical advice.
Another recommendation in cases of people with newly diagnosed active RA is to offer a combination of disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs as first-line treatment as soon as possible, ideally within three months of the onset of persistent symptoms.
Doctors are also advised that:
• people with RA should have access to specialist physiotherapy, with periodic review
• people with RA should have access to a multidisciplinary team providing the opportunity for periodic assessments of the effect of the disease on their lives and access to a named member of the team such as the specialist nurse, who is responsible for coordinating their care.
Dr Louise Warburton, a GP who is a specialist in RA and helped develop the guideline, said: “It can be difficult to distinguish early rheumatoid arthritis symptoms from other conditions, but this guideline will help GPs to diagnose the condition early on.
“The guideline sets out a clear care pathway, and reminds health professionals to also discuss the wider impacts of the disease on the individual’s lifestyle, all of which will benefit patients enormously.”
Dr Michael Rudolf, chair of the guideline development group, said: “This new guideline will help make sure that everyone with rheumatoid arthritis benefits from a consistent national approach to managing the condition.
“This guideline sets standards for the best ways to support and treat patients with RA, thus helping to end the existing variation in practice and improving standards of care.”
Copyright OnMedica Group Ltd 2009
GPs have been provided with new guidance on how to improve the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in adults.
The guidelines from clinical standards watchdog the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the National Collaborating Centre for Chronic Conditions promise to help thousands of people with the condition.
The new guidance sets out how best to identify rheumatoid arthritis, which treatments and therapies are effective, and when surgery should be considered.
Around 400,000 people in the UK have RA and over twice as many women as men suffer from the condition.
The guideline recommends that clinicians should refer for specialist opinion any person with suspected persistent synovitis of undetermined cause. They should also refer urgently if they observe the small joints of the hands or feet being affected; more than one joint affected; or there has been a delay of three months or longer between onset of symptoms and seeking medical advice.
Another recommendation in cases of people with newly diagnosed active RA is to offer a combination of disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs as first-line treatment as soon as possible, ideally within three months of the onset of persistent symptoms.
Doctors are also advised that:
• people with RA should have access to specialist physiotherapy, with periodic review
• people with RA should have access to a multidisciplinary team providing the opportunity for periodic assessments of the effect of the disease on their lives and access to a named member of the team such as the specialist nurse, who is responsible for coordinating their care.
Dr Louise Warburton, a GP who is a specialist in RA and helped develop the guideline, said: “It can be difficult to distinguish early rheumatoid arthritis symptoms from other conditions, but this guideline will help GPs to diagnose the condition early on.
“The guideline sets out a clear care pathway, and reminds health professionals to also discuss the wider impacts of the disease on the individual’s lifestyle, all of which will benefit patients enormously.”
Dr Michael Rudolf, chair of the guideline development group, said: “This new guideline will help make sure that everyone with rheumatoid arthritis benefits from a consistent national approach to managing the condition.
“This guideline sets standards for the best ways to support and treat patients with RA, thus helping to end the existing variation in practice and improving standards of care.”
Copyright OnMedica Group Ltd 2009
