Artrite reumatóide para clínicos gerais: sinais de alerta!

Público alvo: técnico.

A última edição da prestigiosa revista British Medical Journal chama a atenção dos GPs (General Practitioners) britânicos para as melhores condutas em relação ao paciente que se apresenta com poliartrite. O sumário do artigo:

What you need to know

• Consider rheumatoid arthritis in any patient presenting with joint pain, swelling, and morning stiffness of over 30 minutes

• Refer within two weeks if symptoms affect small joints of the hands or feet, or more than one joint, or have been present for at least three months

• Starting treatment with combination disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (including methotrexate), especially within three months of symptom onset, can slow disease progression and improve symptoms, function, and quality of life

• When rheumatoid arthritis is suspected, x ray symptomatic joints and measure rheumatoid factor, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and C reactive protein without delaying referral, as negative results do not exclude the diagnosis.

BMJ 2016; 352 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i387 (Published 23 March 2016)

Cite this as: BMJ 2016;352:i387