Five Years’ Experience of Multidisciplinary Approach to Chronic Inflammatory Diseases by Rheumatology, Dermatology and Gastroenterology Departments

Abstract

Introduction: Chronic inflammatory diseases (CIDs) are lifelong complex disorders that affect quality of life, and this study aimed to summarize 5 years of experience with a multidisciplinary approach for these complex diseases as a result of medical council meetings. Methods: Hospital-based, medical records review study was conducted. A total of 45 monthly medical council meetings were held between 2014-2019 with the participation of the rheumatology, dermatology and gastroenterology departments of the same university. Patients with complex conditions that were seen in each department's own polyclinic composed the council. This study only included 308 patients referred by the rheumatology group. Results: Females made up 66.5 % of the 308 patients. The median age was 45 (19-77). PsA (psoriatic arthritis) and other SPA (spondyloarthritis) patients composed 49.3% of the total. A total of 68.18% of the patients were presented only to consult with the dermatology department. The most common reason for presenting patients was to discuss options for treatment (41.5%). The diagnosis of psoriasis was confirmed in 48 of 67 (71.6%) patients who presented with a pre-diagnosis. The diagnosis was changed in 34.74% of the patients, whereas the diagnosis became completely different in 11.36% of the patients. Conclusions: Many patients with challenging diagnosis and treatment processes are encountered in daily practice. The combination of different disciplines makes it possible to provide more rapid and effective solutions. In this study, we aimed to emphasize the increasing importance of such multidisciplinary approaches

Keywords

• chronic inflammatory diseases
• dermatology
• gastroenterology
• multidisciplinary
• rheumatology