Delayed Care: Research Paints Complex Picture of Treatment Delays

Being mindful of traits that can cause delay might help manage a patient once they come into the care of a rheumatologist, Ms. Van der Elst said.

“It’s likely that patients’ help-seeking behavior at symptom onset will predict how they will behave in the future,” Ms. Van der Elst said. “Therefore, analyzing the psychosocial factors that influence the patient delay could give you valuable information in how patients will deal with RA-related problems in the future, for example, how they will deal with flares.”

Thomas R. Collins is a freelance writer living in South Florida.

References

1. Raza K, Stack R, Kumar K, et al. Delays in assessment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis: variations across Europe. Ann Rheum Dis. 2011 Oct;70(10):1822–1825.
2. Verschueren P, De Cock D, Corluy L, et al. Effectiveness of methotrexate with step-down glucocorticoid remission induction (COBRA Slim) versus other intensive treatment strategies for early rheumatoid arthritis in a treat-totarget approach: 1-year results of CareRA, a randomised pragmatic open-label. Ann Rheum Dis. 2017 Mar;76(3):511–520.