ABSTRACT

Early diagnosis and treatment is important for decreasing joint destruction and functional disability of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Thus time to the initiation of treatment is critical. This study aimed to delineate the course of diagnosis in RA patients in a newly organized rheumatology clinic.

Charts of RA patients seen between February 2010- July 2011 were retrospectively evaluated. Time to treatment, the types of clinics where the patients were diagnosed as RA, and laboratory and clinical findings were retrieved from hospital files.

A total of 434 (female/male: 351/83) patients were included. Median time to treatment and disease duration were 18 (IQR: 11-36) months and 36 (IQR: 12-77) months respectively. Three-hundred-and-fifteen (72.5%) patients were previously diagnosed as RA whereas 119 (27.5%) had been newly diagnosed in our clinic. Time to treatment was shorter in newly diagnosed than previously diagnosed patients [12 (IQR:6-24) months vs. 24 (IQR:12-36) months, p<0.001]. Time to treatment was not different between groups regarding sex, rheumatoid factor seropositivity and having family history, however patients with severe disease activity had higher time to treatment than others [24 (IQR: 12-36) months]. Distribution of previously diagnosed patients according to clinics were; 206 (65.4%) in Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, 102 (32.3%) in Rheumatology and 7(2.3%) in Internal Medicine..

Median time to treatment was 18 months for RA patients which is quite late. Increasing the awareness of physicians and community about rheumatic diseases could be a rational approach in early diagnosis and treatment in RA especially in rural areas.