PARIS – New guidelines aim to narrow the wide variation that has been observed across specialties and countries in the treatment of patients with polymyalgia rheumatica.
The guidelines, the first ever developed in a joint collaboration between the American College of Rheumatology and the European League Against Rheumatism, brought together "probably the biggest and most diverse guidelines panel" ever assembled for a rheumatologic condition – with 51 members, including patients, according to Dr. Bhaskar Dasgupta, primary author of the guidelines and leader of the guidelines study group.
Within the guidelines is a flowchart for the treatment of polymyalgia rheumatica that outlines overarching principles for care involving clinical, laboratory, and imaging assessments, as well as patient views, said Dr. Dasgupta, head of the department of rheumatology at Southend University Hospital, Essex, England.