It takes several months to even several years to detect the so-called early arthritis, which affects young people, not old people – said on Wednesday at a press conference in Warsaw prof. Brygida Kwiatkowska from the Warsaw Institute of Rheumatology.
According to the recommendations of the European Anti-Rheumatic League (EULAR), no more than 12 weeks should pass from the appearance of the first symptoms of early arthritis to the implementation of appropriate therapy. This is very important, because the quick detection of these diseases determines the effectiveness of treatment – said Prof. Kwiatkowska, head of the Early Arthritis Clinic and clinical director of the Rheumatology Institute.
Early arthritis may be the beginning of, inter alia, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus and spondyloarthritis (arthritis involving the joints of the spine). The delays in diagnosing these diseases are abnormally long. It takes 10-20 weeks before RA is detected, lupus is diagnosed after an average of 22-28 months, and spondyloarthritis – even after 5-18 years – emphasized the specialist.
She pointed out that the early detection of arthritis is very important because, contrary to popular belief, it mainly affects young people, not the old ones. It can even appear in babies. Prof. Kwiatkowska said that one of the youngest patients was only 6 months old. Most of the patients are of productive age, usually before the age of 50.
Early detection of this disease and application of appropriate treatment may enable them to lead both an active professional and private life. And this reduces the social costs associated with, for example, sickness absenteeism – said the specialist. She gave an example of patients suffering from RA: after 5 years of illness, half of them still work, and after 10 years – only one in five.
She added that starting treatment earlier in the disease also reduces the direct costs of therapy. Obtaining remission in the case of rheumatoid arthritis in the initial stage of the disease costs PLN 9, and in the more advanced stage – PLN 800. zloty.
According to the professor, a patient with initial symptoms of the disease, such as joint swelling accompanied by pain and limited mobility of the affected joints, should see a rheumatologist as soon as possible. Patients with inflammation of more than one joint should be referred to this specialist preferably within 6 weeks of the first symptoms.
This is generally not possible, 43 percent. patients with these symptoms go to a rheumatologist only after 2 years – emphasized prof. Kwiatkowska. The primary care physician should therefore refer the patient to a rheumatologist as soon as he notices symptoms indicative of early arthritis, she added.
The symptoms of this disease are usually sudden joint swelling, not related to an injury or bone deformity. Early arthritis is even more indicated by the involvement of at least two joints and the morning stiffness lasting 30 minutes. Young people especially should pay attention to them – said prof. Kwiatkowska.
The first step in the diagnostic process in such cases is to confirm the inflammatory nature of the disease. The patient should be referred to early arthritis treatment centers for specialist diagnostics. They are found in most European Union countries, including Poland, as well as in the United States and Canada. The problem is that the waiting time for the visit is too long – said Prof. Kwiatkowska.