ABSTRACT

Rheumatologic diseases have systemic features. So, almost all medical specialities can refer some of their patients to rheumatology. There is 0.22 rheumatologists per a hundred thousand persons in Turkey. Suitability of patient referrals to rheumatology outpatient clinics may relate to early diagnosis and timely treatment of the patients with rheumatologic diseases. In this study, we aimed to determine the main clinical features of referred patients to the rheumatology clinic and frequency of final diagnosis of them.

We enrolled 739 patients who were referred to Kartal Lütfi Kırdar Training and Research Hospital Rheumatology outpatient clinic in the recent year. We obtained patient name, age, gender, reason for referral, final diagnosis and referral physician information from the patient files.

Articular signs were found as the most common reason for referral. 392 (53.1%) patients were diagnosed with rheumatologic diseases. Osteoarthritis was the most frequent diagnosis. Signs, laboratory parameters and provisional diagnosis in referral forms were similar in both patients with rheumatologic and non-rheumatologic diseases.

Early diagnosis and treatment is the essential for rheumatologic diseases. Referring patients to rheumatology with high sensitivity contributes early diagnosis and helps for prevention of complication. Also, correct referral process may reduce inappropriate application to rheumatology clinics. Articular signs, high acute phase reactants and positive auto-antibodies were the most common reasons for referring. Most frequent diagnosis was osteoarthritis.