Pre PACES Podcast #59 Rheumatoid arthritis (part 2)
12 snips
Apr 23, 2023 
Dr Arrianne Laws, a Glasgow consultant rheumatologist with RA and medical education expertise, unpacks investigations and management of rheumatoid arthritis. Short takes cover essential bloods and imaging. She outlines DMARDs, biologics and screening. There is also practical advice on symptom control, multidisciplinary care and common exam-style questions.
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Get Baseline Hand and Foot X-Rays
- Do obtain baseline plain radiographs of hands and feet for all new rheumatoid patients.
- Arrianne Laws highlights hands/feet x-rays and chest x-ray for pulmonary fibrosis so you can baseline erosions and adjust aggressiveness of treatment.
Treat Rheumatoid Arthritis As A Team Sport
- Do involve the multidisciplinary team early and use functional scores to track impact.
- Arrianne Laws recommends physiotherapy, occupational therapy, social work and the Health Assessment Questionnaire to protect function and work.
Use DAS To Decide When To Escalate Therapy
- Do use DAS scores routinely to guide escalation and measure treatment response.
- Arrianne Laws explains DAS combines tender/swollen joint counts, patient VAS and CRP/ESR and gates access to biologics when >5.1 after two DMARDs.