INFO - An in-depth overview of RA

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A. Paget, MD, FACP, FACR

Physician-in-Chief and Chairman of the Division of Rheumatology,

Hospital for Special Surgery

The ph P. Routh Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College

" An In-Depth Overview of Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Patient's Reference " :

http://www.hss.edu/conditions_14137.asp

Excerpt:

The treatment should match the tempo, activity, aggressiveness, and

personality of the RA inflammation. Quantitation of the clinical

outcome is mandatory! The formula that defines the type of therapy

includes the following clinical information:

A. The patient's function. Are you working optimally either inside or

outside of the home? If working, how limited are you and is your work

threatened? If you have stopped working, was it due to RA? Specific

functional scales such as the Health Assessment Questionnaire can be

followed serially as an early-warning sign to limitation in function.

The patient can also measure function in the following simple manner:

ten is the worst you can be, 0 is normal function. Where were you

before you started the treatment regimen and where are you now?

B. The level of joint inflammation as defined by the number of swollen

and tender joints.

C. The level of fatigue using the same 0-10 scale.

D. The ESR and the level of anemia

E. The development of joint deformities or erosions

F. The presence and extent of extra-articular manifestations (i.e.

nodules, lung disease, eye inflammation).

Not an MD