Center of Adult and Pediatric Rheumatology

Rheumatology

Rheumatology is the field of internal medicine that focuses on systemic diseases of connective tissues. Center of Adult and Pediatric Rheumatology provides diagnosis and treatment services for rheumatic diseases in both inpatient and outpatient settings. For precise diagnostics, state-of-art technologies and laboratory studies are applied which are being conducted at new hospitals internationally accredited laboratory.

For ensuring the precise diagnostics and selecting the most effective treatment course for various rheumatic diseases, the involvement of specialists of different profiles is of high importance. Patients at New Hospitals Center of Adult and Pediatric Rheumatology have opportunity to have hematologists, orthopedists, neurologists, and/or nephrologists involved in the treatment processes.

When should you refer to a rheumatologist?

A patient should visit the rheumatologist for consultation when polymorphic (diverse) signs and symptoms occur: weight loss, fatigue, profuse (excessive) sweating, polyserositis, fever, hepatosplenomegaly (enlargement of the liver and spleen), pain, swelling or/and restricted movement in the area of joints;

Besides, a consultation with rheumatologist is recommended in case of following symptoms:

• Skin damage - polymorphic (diverse) eruption, rash around the joints, red-blue limbs, hyper pigment or hypo pigmented areas, sclerosis areas, symmetric small spot hemorrhage (in this case consultation with hematologist is also recommended), marbled skin (livedo), erythema nodosum, necrosis areas, skin and subcutaneous tissue swelling.
• Mouth ulcers and nasal mucosal ulceration.
• Joint damage - swelling, pain, restricted movement, enthesitis (inflammation of the entheses), heel pain.
• Muscle damage - pain, fatigue, difficulty in swallowing, dysphagia, dysphonia, muscle atrophy, calcifications.
• Rapid impairment or blurred vision - uveitis, iridocyclitis as assessed by the ophthalmologist.
• Cardiovascular system damage - weak or absent pulse on the periphery, pressure difference across the limbs, pericarditis when other causes are excluded.
• Urinary system damage - ulcers on the external genitalia, nephrite with nephrotic syndrome accompanied by the above symptoms.
• Pancytopenia (reduction in the number of red and white blood cells) evidenced by laboratory study when hematologic pathology is excluded.