Who is a rheumatologist?
A rheumatologist is a physician who completes his internal medicine specialization training and specializes in rheumatic diseases with additional specialization and carries out the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of rheumatological diseases. ?
Rheumatology is a branch of science that treats inflammatory joint diseases in general terms. However, rheumatic diseases are not limited to the musculoskeletal system, but can affect any organ system in the body. The most common organs involved are the eyes, skin, intestines, lungs and heart.
* Although there are many types of rheumatism, the most common inflammatory rheumatisms among the public are gout, rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthritis. .
* Spondyloarthritis is a general umbrella definition that includes ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis (psoriasis), enteropathic arthritis (rheumatism associated with bowel disease), and reactive arthritis.
* Connective tissue diseases defined as; Raynoud's disease, butterfly disease (systemic lupus erythematosus), Sjögren's syndrome, scleroderma
* Diseases including polymyositis and dermotomyositis, also known as inflammatory muscle diseases,
* and various diseases called vasculitis (such as temporal arteritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, Wegener's granulomatosis),
* Many diseases such as familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), Behçet's disease, Still's disease, rheumatic fever and sarcoidosis.
* Diseases such as soft tissue rheumatism (fibromyalgia) and calcification (osteoarthritis) can accompany inflammatory rheumatism diseases.
How does a rheumatologist diagnose the disease?
*Diagnose the disease A detailed clinical history, examination of the patient, laboratory evaluations, and imaging are used to The most basic of these are the history and physical examination.
*Laboratory tests may differ depending on the type of disease the physician is considering. For example, autoantibodies such as ANA and its subgroups may be requested in people with connective tissue disease, while genetic tests such as HLA-B27 may be requested in suspected spondyloarthritis group disease. ir. Similarly, genetic diagnostic tests can be used in autoinflammatory diseases such as familial Mediterranean fever (FMF). Laboratory tests are also essential in evaluating the extent, activity (severity) of the disease and the side effects of the drugs used, as well as making a diagnosis.
*Imaging examinations are also among the evaluations used in the diagnosis phase and vary according to the disease considered. While some patients can be diagnosed with a direct radiography (X-ray), further tests such as tomography, MR or even PET may be required in others. Bone mineral density measurement (BMD) is another desired imaging in terms of accompanying bone resorption (osteoporosis).
*Invasive interventional methods (such as angiography) and biopsy sampling may be needed in some cases.
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