Rheumatology

What we do

Rheumatology takes care of diseases involving articular and para-articular (for example tendons and muscles) structures or involving numerous organs (systemic), such as connectivities and vasculitis. It takes care of some bone diseases like ostheoporosis, algodystrophy, Paget’s disease.

Among articular inflammatory diseases we remember rheumatoid arthritis, the more diffused psoriatic arthritis and all forms of seronegative arthritis. Microcrystalline arthritis is also frequent, like “reactive” acute forms (parainfectious).

Autoimmune diseases area is a broad and complex situation. Diagnosis and therapy possibilities in complicated and delicate clinical pictures are often up to the doctor’s experience. These conditions are diagnosed and followed in collaboration with university centres. A gynaecological and rheumatological clinic was created for the monitoring of high-risk pregnancies for patients with connective tissue diseases and arthritis.

Outpatient activity has always been the core of rheumatology: for the diagnosis we make use of instrumental analysis, such as articular ultrasound, videocapillaroscopy, arthrocentesis with synovial fluid analysis.

Depending on the condition and monitoring necessities, the patient can be cured through day-hospital or on an outpatient basis where we can perform specific infusion therapies (for example prostanoid in patients with scleroderma, immunoglobulin and major immunosuppressor in autoimmune forms). Recently an infusion room has been prepared for specific drugs for rheumatic patients.

For cases with complex clinical picture or serious diseases, patients can be hospitalized with dedicated beds.

We are available for evaluations of ER patients, in need of a rheumatologic assessment (acute arthritis, Horton’s disease, Polymyalgia rheumatica, rheumatic diseases’ or immunosuppressive therapy complications).

We are authorised for administration of biotechnological drugs (“biologic”) for arthritis (rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, non-radiographic seronegative spondyloarthritis) we are introducing them in the clinic.

For a couple of years, we have been prescribing and administering the recent therapy with Denosumab, as well as the traditional bisphosphonate therapy.

For bone diseases in the integrated clinic we administer infusive neridronate cycles for algodystrophy and Paget’s disease.

All clinical activity and diagnostic, therapeutic, assistance programs are made according to national and international guidelines.

Rheumatologists also collaborate with other specialistic professionals present in our structure, for mutual improvement: diagnostical radiology, ultrasound, CT and MRI, ophthalmology, pneumology with respiratory physiopathology service, cardiology, orthopaedics, endocrinology, gynaecology for high-risk pregnancies for patients with connective tissue diseases.

Recently we created a network of collaboration with colleagues from general medicine. This is essential for treatment of rheumatic patients and helps to make them feel well cared for.