Gout incidence and management during the COVID-19 pandemic in England, UK: a nationwide observational study using OpenSAFELY.

Background: Gout is the most prevalent inflammatory arthritis, yet one of the worst managed. Our objective was to assess how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted incidence and quality of care for people with gout in England, UK.

Methods: With the approval of National Health Service England, we did a population-level cohort study using primary care and hospital electronic health record data for 17·9 million adults registered with general practices using TPP health record software, via the OpenSAFELY platform.

Occupational impacts of early inflammatory arthritis: results from the National Early Inflammatory Arthritis Audit.

Objectives: Inflammatory arthritis causes significant work disability. Studies regarding this frequently fail to report important contextual information such as employment type. Our objective was to explore work participation, by gender and occupation type, in early inflammatory arthritis.

Online Patient-Reported Outcome Measure Engagement Is Dependent on Demographics and Locality: Findings From an Observational Cohort.

Objective: Online patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) enable remote collection of perceptions of health status, function, and well-being. We aimed to explore patterns of PROM completion in patients with early inflammatory arthritis (EIA) recruited to the National Early Inflammatory Arthritis Audit (NEIAA).

Methods: NEIAA is an observational cohort study design; we included adults from this cohort with a new diagnosis of EIA from May 2018 to March 2020.

Incidence and management of inflammatory arthritis in England before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a population-level cohort study using OpenSAFELY.

Background: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the incidence and management of inflammatory arthritis is not understood. Routinely captured data in secure platforms, such as OpenSAFELY, offer unique opportunities to understand how care for patients with inflammatory arthritis was impacted upon by the pandemic. Our objective was to use OpenSAFELY to assess the effects of the pandemic on diagnostic incidence and care delivery for inflammatory arthritis in England and to replicate key metrics from the National Early Inflammatory Arthritis Audit.

Worse outcomes linked to ethnicity for early inflammatory arthritis in England and Wales: a national cohort study.

Objective: To assess variability in care quality and treatment outcomes across ethnicities in early inflammatory arthritis (EIA).

Methods: We conducted an observational cohort study in England and Wales from May 2018 to March 2020, including patients with a suspected/confirmed EIA diagnosis. Care quality was assessed against six metrics defined by national guidelines.

Diagnostic delay is common for patients with axial spondyloarthritis: results from the National Early Inflammatory Arthritis Audit.

Objectives: Updated guidelines for patients with axial SpA (axSpA) have sought to reduce diagnostic delay by raising awareness among clinicians. We used the National Early Inflammatory Arthritis Audit (NEIAA) to describe baseline characteristics and time to diagnosis for newly referred patients with axSpA in England and Wales.

Methods: Analyses were performed on sociodemographic and clinical metrics, including time to referral and assessment, for axSpA patients (n = 784) recruited to the NEIAA between May 2018 and March 2020.

Disease activity and its predictors in early inflammatory arthritis: findings from a national cohort.

Objectives: We set out to characterize patient factors that predict disease activity during the first year of treatment for early inflammatory arthritis (EIA).

Methods: We used an observational cohort study design, extracting data from a national clinical audit. All NHS organizations providing secondary rheumatology care in England and Wales were eligible to take part, with recruitment from 215/218 (99%) clinical commissioning groups (CCGs)/Health Boards.

Management of gout by UK rheumatologists: a British Society for Rheumatology national audit.

Objectives: To assess the concordance of gout management by UK rheumatologists with evidence-based best-practice recommendations.

Methods: Data were collected on patients newly referred to UK rheumatology out-patient departments over an 8-week period. Baseline data included demographics, method of diagnosis, clinical features, comorbidities, urate-lowering therapy (ULT), prophylaxis and blood tests.

Achievement of NICE quality standards for patients with new presentation of inflammatory arthritis: observations from the National Clinical Audit for Rheumatoid and Early Inflammatory Arthritis.

Objectives: A national audit was performed assessing the early management of suspected inflammatory arthritis by English and Welsh rheumatology units. The aim of this audit was to measure the performance of rheumatology services against National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) quality standards (QSs) for the management of early inflammatory arthritis benchmarked to regional and national comparators for the first time in the UK.

Methods: All individuals >16 years of age presenting to rheumatology services in England and Wales with suspected new-onset inflammatory arthritis were included in the audit.

Patient- and clinician-reported outcomes for patients with new presentation of inflammatory arthritis: observations from the National Clinical Audit for Rheumatoid and Early Inflammatory Arthritis.

Objectives: Our aim was to conduct a national audit assessing the impact and experience of early management of inflammatory arthritis by English and Welsh rheumatology units. The audit enables rheumatology services to measure for the first time their performance, patient outcomes and experience, benchmarked to regional and national comparators.

Methods: All individuals >16 years of age presenting to English and Welsh rheumatology services with suspected new-onset inflammatory arthritis were included in the audit.

Postpartum onset and subsequent relapse of eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis.

Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) can affect women of childbearing age. However, reports of the disease in the postpartum period are limited. We present a case of postpartum-onset EGPA that went into clinical remission before relapsing in the subsequent postpartum period.

The prevention and treatment of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis in clinical practice.

Glucocorticoids are associated with increased risk of bone loss and fracture. This study compared the prescribing of bone protective agents by rheumatologists in clinical practice with the standards recommended in the 1998 UK Consensus guidelines. All glucocorticoid users who attended rheumatology outpatients during a four-week period were eligible.