Bhubaneswar, October 19: More than 1,000 patients suffering from various arthritis and autoimmune diseases are coming to AIIMS Bhubaneswar General Medicine OPD every month. More than 50 patients suffering from these diseases are admitted every month in the General Medicine wards, said AIIMS Bhubaneswar Executive Director Dr. Ashutosh Biswas.
In a public awareness programme organised to mark World Arthritis Day, Dr. Biswas interacted with the patients and their relatives and said that the department also runs a special Rheumatology clinic specifically for these patients.
General Medicine Department head Dr. Anupam Dey said that various diagnostic tests and imaging tests are available at AIIMS Bhubaneswar. Treatment is done either on OPD basis or with admission. Various medications including advanced biological drugs are administered. Physiotherapy is an integral part of treatment and AIIMS Bhubaneswar has a separate dept of PMR to cater to this need.
At present, more than 7 crore people in India are suffering from arthritis problems. These problems can have various causes like age related, autoimmunity related, infection related, etc. In most of the cases, females are affected more. If not treated properly and timely, this can lead to life threatening complications that can lead to death too. They can also develop deformities with significant morbidities because of pain. Trigger factors like alcohol and smoking aggravate the severity.
At present, the available treatments are very effective, so that the patient can lead a pain-free life. People should lead a healthy lifestyle with a balanced diet, and exercises. They should consult the doctor if they have any arthritis symptoms.
Various types of rheumatological diseases attending Medicine dept are like Rheumatoid arthritis, Psoriatic arthritis, Reactive arthritis, SLE, Systemic sclerosis, Sjogren syndrome, Ankylosing spondylitis, Gouty arthritis, etc. Females are affected more in cases of Rheumatoid arthritis and SLE while males are affected more in Ankylosing spondylitis. There is another type of arthritis called Osteoarthritis which is usually related to joint degeneration and age related. This can be found in older age groups.
The theme for this year’s World Arthritis Day was ‘Living with a Rheumatological and Musculoskeletal Disorder at all stages of life’.
