An international survey of current management practices for polymyalgia rheumatica by general practitioners and rheumatologists

Donskov, Agnete Overgaard, Mackie, Sarah Louise, Hauge, Ellen Margrethe, Toro-Gutiérrez, Carlos Enrique, Hansen, Ib Tønder, Hemmig, Andrea Katharina, Van Der Maas, Aatke, Gheita, Tamer, Nielsen, Berit Dalsgaard, Douglas, Karen M. J., Conway, Richard, Rezus, Elena, Dasgupta, Bhaskar, Monti, Sara, Matteson, Eric L., Sattui, Sebastian E., Matza, Mark, Ocampo, Vanessa, Gromova, Margarita, Grainger, Rebecca, Bran, Andrea, Appenzeller, Simone, Goecke, Annelise, Colman, Nelly, Keen, Helen I., Kuwana, Masataka, Gupta, Latika, Salim, Babur, Harifi, Ghita, Erraoui, Mariam, Ziade, Nelly, Al-Ani, Nizar Abdulateef, Ajibade, Adeola, Knitza, Johannes, Frølund, Line, Yates, Max ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3977-8920, Pimentel-Quiroz, Victor R., Lyrio, Andre Marun, Sandovici, Maria, van der Geest, Kornelis S. M., Helliwell, Toby, Brouwer, Elisabeth, Dejaco, Christian and Keller, Kresten Krarup (2023) An international survey of current management practices for polymyalgia rheumatica by general practitioners and rheumatologists. Rheumatology, 62 (8). pp. 2797-2805. ISSN 1462-0324

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Abstract

Objectives: To explore current management practices for PMR by general practitioners (GPs) and rheumatologists including implications for clinical trial recruitment.   Methods: An English language questionnaire was constructed by a working group of rheumatologists and GPs from six countries. The questionnaire focused on: 1: Respondent characteristics; 2: Referral practices; 3: Treatment with glucocorticoids; 4: Diagnostics; 5: Comorbidities; and 6: Barriers to research. The questionnaire was distributed to rheumatologists and GPs worldwide via members of the International PMR/Giant Cell Arteritis Study Group.   Results: In total, 394 GPs and 937 rheumatologists responded to the survey. GPs referred a median of 25% of their suspected PMR patients for diagnosis and 50% of these were returned to their GP for management. In general, 39% of rheumatologists evaluated patients with suspected PMR >2 weeks after referral, and a median of 50% of patients had started prednisolone before rheumatologist evaluation. Direct comparison of initial treatment showed that the percentage prescribing >25 mg prednisolone daily for patients was 30% for GPs and 12% for rheumatologists. Diagnostic imaging was rarely used. More than half (56%) of rheumatologists experienced difficulties recruiting people with PMR to clinical trials.   Conclusion: This large international survey indicates that a large proportion of people with PMR are not referred for diagnosis, and that the proportion of treatment-naive patients declined with increasing time from referral to assessment. Strategies are needed to change referral and management of people with PMR, to improve clinical practice and facilitate recruitment to clinical trials.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: pmr,diagnostic,glucocorticoid,guideline,research,treatment,rheumatology,pharmacology (medical) ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2700/2745
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Population Health
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Norwich Epidemiology Centre
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Norwich Epidemiology Centre
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Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 27 Aug 2024 15:30
Last Modified: 01 Sep 2024 06:31
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/96360
DOI: 10.1093/rheumatology/keac713

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