Rheumatology 

Definition:

Rheumatology, a subspecialty of internal medicine, is devoted to the diagnosis and therapy of rheumatic diseases.

Patient Services:

• The Rheumatology Clinic focuses on providing quality care and ongoing treatment services to patients with rheumatologic disorders.

• Diagnosing and treating patients with different musculoskeletal complaints. This includes thorough clinical evaluation and laboratory work.

• Instituting the appropriate treatment as early as possible.

• Monitoring the progression of different rheumatological diseases using appropriate international standards of assessing disease outcomes for different rheumatological disorders, such as DAS 28, SLEDAI, SLICC, etc.

• Admitting patients for in-hospital cytotoxic therapy (cyclophosphamide), prostaglandin E2 and anti-TNF therapy (infliximab).

• Monitoring treatment:

- Monitoring the efficacy of treatment.

- Possible side effects of treatment.

• We use internationally recommended tools for assessing disease activity for different rheumatological disorders such as DAS 28 in case of RA and SLEDAI in case of SLE.

• We look after patients with metabolic bone disease.

• We also perform several procedures in our unit such as:

1.     Skin biopsy.

2.     Liver biopsy.

3.     Joint aspiration therapeutic and diagnostic.

4.     Intra-articular joint aspiration and injection.

5.     Ascetic fluid aspiration for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.

6.     Pleural fluid aspiration therapeutic and diagnostic.

7.     Lumbar puncture.

Who sees a Rheumatologist?

Diseases diagnosed or managed by the rheumatologist include:
 

Diagnosis:

Apart from an extensive medical history and physical examination, a rheumatologist may use the following diagnostic methods:
• Laboratory tests (e.g. erythrocyte sedimentation rate, rheumatoid factor).
• X-rays of affected joints and other imaging methods.
• Cytology and chemical pathology of fluid aspirated from affected joints (e.g. to differentiate between septic arthritis and gout).

Treatment:
The unit is specialised in diagnosing and treating rheumatological disorders at the highest international standard and utmost care, and we do so through:
• Gathering history data and performing thorough locomotor examinations.
• Interpreting different radiological investigations of the musculoskeletal system.
• Performing different serological tests for connective tissue disease when it is indicated.
• We offer our patients symptomatic treatments, as well as immunosuppressive therapy when it is indicated.
• We apply Rheumatology Unit guidelines, which are based on the current available evidence. These guidelines are updated regularly

Location of Service:
The services can be found on the ground floor.