Cross-sectional study of the clinic behavior and therapeutic status of rheumatoid arthritis patients
- VernacularTitle:类风湿关节炎患者就医及治疗现状分析
- Author:
Xu LIU
;
Yuan JIA
;
Yuan AN
;
Jing HE
;
Zhanguo LI
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Arthritis,rheumatoid;
Cross-sectional study;
DMARDs
- From:
Chinese Journal of Rheumatology
2008;12(9):637-639
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective To investigate and analyze the behavior and therapeutic status of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Methods Out patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in our hospital from May to August 2007 were enrolled. The data including sex, age of onset, site of first hospitalization and medication status were collected and analyzed. Results In this 181 RA patients, the mean age of onset was (53±11) year-old, mean history duration was (10±8) years, the ratio of male to female was 1:4.2. The orthopedics department was the most common site of first hospital visit (32.0%, 58/181) and rheumatology department was the most common site to clarify the diagnosis (62.4% ,113/181). The diagnosis delay caused by patients themselves was (5.9±17.2) months and the delay caused by doctors was (9.0±22.0) months. More than half of the patients were not treated appropriately before they came to our hospital. Methotrexate was the most commonly used DMARDs (67.3%), followed by leflunomide (46.4%), sulfasalazine (37.5%) and hydroxyehloroquine (19.6%). Conclusion In this cohort, the proportion of patients who come to rheumatology department immediately after disease onset is low. There is delay between symptoms and final diagnosis. More than half of the patients are not treated appropriately.
