Physical Therapists' Ability to Distinguish Between Inflammatory and Noninflammatory Arthritis and to Appropriately Refer Patients to a Rheumatologist.

Autor: Ehrmann Feldman D; Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada., Bernatsky S; Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada., Orozco T; Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada., El-Khoury J; Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada., Desmeules F; Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada., Laliberté M; Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada., Perreault K; Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration and Université Laval, Quebec, Quebec, Canada., Grad R; Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada., Zummer M; CH Maisonneuve-Rosemont, Montreal, Quebec, Canada., Woodhouse L; University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Arthritis care & research [Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken)] 2020 Dec; Vol. 72 (12), pp. 1747-1754. Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 Nov 06.
DOI: 10.1002/acr.24081
Abstrakt: Objective: To investigate whether physical therapists (PTs) can correctly identify new-onset inflammatory arthritis; to assess whether PTs are aware that cases of new-onset inflammatory arthritis should be referred to a rheumatologist; to explore the comfort level of PTs to refer to medical specialists; and to determine factors associated with correctly identifying inflammatory arthritis and referring to a rheumatologist.
Methods: We sent a questionnaire to PTs in 2 Canadian provinces describing 4 case scenarios (new-onset rheumatoid arthritis [RA], knee osteoarthritis [OA], new-onset ankylosing spondylitis [AS], and low back pain [LBP]). Participants were asked to identify probable medical diagnoses and indicate their plan of action. We described the frequencies of our outcomes and used logistic regression to explore associated factors.
Results: A total of 352 PTs responded. The proportions who correctly identified each of the 4 cases were 90%, 83%, 77%, and 100%, respectively, for RA, OA, AS, and LBP. Among those, 77%, 30%, 73%, and 3%, respectively, indicated that it was "very important" or "extremely important" to refer to a rheumatologist. Approximately two-thirds felt "extremely comfortable" or "quite comfortable" to refer to a specialist. PTs working in rural areas were less likely to refer.
Conclusion: Most PTs correctly identified the clinical cases and were aware of the importance of prompt referral to a rheumatologist for inflammatory disease. Most indicated that it was not very important to refer those with OA and LBP. This implies that many PTs can distinguish between inflammatory and noninflammatory conditions and appropriately refer patients with suspected inflammatory arthritis to a rheumatologist.
(© 2020, American College of Rheumatology.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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