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Management of rheumatoid arthritis: summary of NICE guidance

2009; BMJ; Volume: 338; Issue: mar16 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1136/bmj.b702

0959-8138

Chris Deighton, Rachel O’Mahony, Jonathan Tosh, Claire Turner, M. Rudolf,

Clinical practice guidelines implementation

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, progressive autoimmune disease associated with inflammation principally in synovial joints and affecting over 400 000 people in the United Kingdom.1 In recent years it has become clear that pain and disability can be avoided if the disease is recognised early and treated promptly and appropriately. It is therefore crucial that all health professionals have knowledge of the recognition, management, and appropriate referral of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. This article summarises the recommendations in the guideline from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) on the management of rheumatoid arthritis, from early identification to managing chronic and severe disease.2 NICE recommendations are based on systematic reviews of best available evidence. When minimal evidence is available, recommendations are based on the opinion of the Guideline Development Group (GDG) of what constitutes good practice. Evidence levels for the recommendations are given in italic in square brackets. ### Referral, diagnosis, and investigations [ Based on high and moderate quality observational studies of early prognosis and identification or diagnosis ] [ Based on data from case series ]