Emphasizes the importance of early intervention in RA with focus on pharmacologic treatment of RA. Detailed information on the various medications employed in treatment, including corticosteroids, NSAIDs DMARDs, biologic agents, and combination therapy is reviewed, including evidence based data on efficacy, safety, side effects, and monitoring requirements. Clinical evaluation is presented, including lab findings, joint scoring, diagnostic criteria, and radiographic outcomes. Surgical options and the management of advanced RA are disussed.

This issue covers the latest developments in the understanding of rheumatoid arthritis at the early stage. Treatments such as with newer biologic agents and conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs are reviewed. Also included are articles on imaging modalities as a means of identifying those in the early stages and monitoring response to treatment.

Important strides have been made in understanding the pathophysiologic basis of many inflammatory conditions in recent years, but rheumatology remains a discipline in which diagnosis is rooted in the medical history skillfully extracted from the patient, the careful physical examination, and the discriminating use of laboratory tests and imaging. Moreover, selection of the most appropriate therapy for patients with rheumatic diseases also remains heavily reliant upon clinical experience. Medical disciplines such as rheumatology that depend significantly upon clinical wisdom are prone to the development of systems of ‘Pearls’ and ‘Myths,’ related to the diseases they call their own, a ‘Pearl’ being a nugget of truth about the diagnosis or treatment of a particular disease that has been gained by dint of clinical experience and a ‘Myth’ being a commonly held belief that influences the practice of many clinicians – but is false. This book will pool together the clinical wisdom of seasoned, expert rheumatologists who participate in the care of patients with autoimmune diseases, systemic inflammatory disorders, and all other rheumatic conditions.

This brand new textbook of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an important addition to the Oxford Textbooks in Rheumatology series, and provides a comprehensive overview of both the scientific and clinical aspects of the disease. Divided into eight sections - from the history, diagnosis, and epidemiology of the disease, through the pathogenesis, clinical presentation, and assessment to treatments and management strategies, both drug- and non-drug based - each chapter is written by leading clinicians and scientists in the field to deliver a contemporary view of RA. During the past two decades there have been revolutionary changes in the understanding and management of rheumatoid arthritis, in particular the development of biological treatments. This has had wide-ranging effects on almost all aspects of treatment, from effectiveness and intensity to the nature and the cost. Providing a comprehensive account of the modern ideas about the disease, the Oxford Textbook of Rheumatoid Arthritis is a key new addition to the literature, with each chapter providing a detailed background, key recent advances, and areas of doubt and future developments. Featuring over 170 photographs, radiological images, and clinical charts to aid both diagnosis and illustrate the rationale behind key scientific studies, this new title will prove an indispensable resource for specialist rheumatologists, trainees in rheumatology, and other members of the multi-disciplinary team.

Companion volume to: Mayo Clinic internal medicine board review. 10th ed. c2013.

The guideline covers the management of people with rheumatoid arthritis all the way through the disease process - from early identification to sever disease.

This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the unique clinical entities of diseases in older patients. The book arranges the organ systems in 21 sections, which include over 100 collective chapters on various age-related diseases in these organ systems. The text is specifically designed for ease-of-use and include learning tools that include multiple choice, short answer, and extended matching questions, case vignettes, self-assessments, and rich tables and illustrations. Each section includes a review of the anatomy, physiology and pathology that are specific to aging patients. The text covers the complex factors that present diagnosis challenges, including the interaction of the disease process with co-existing morbidities, aged- related physiological changes and pre-existing functional challenges and psychosocial circumstances. The text also works with the previously published text Diseases in the Elderly: Age-Related Changes and Pathophysiology, which is tailored to complement this resource. Written by experts in the field, Geriatric Diseases: Clinical Expression, Management and Impact is the ultimate guide on clinical expression and management of diseases in the elderly for medical students, residents, fellows, geriatricians, gerontologists, primary care physicians, internal medicine specialists, emergency room physicians, specialist nurses, and all other physicians and medical professionals treating older patients.