Abstract
Despite being the most common inflammatory rheumatic disease in the elderly (Partington et al., Ann Rheum Dis 77(12):1750-175, 2018), few studies to date have examined the patient experience of polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). Our study explored patient perspectives in PMR by means of a survey and semi-structured group interviews. The results from this study highlight key aspects of the patient experience in PMR, including delays to diagnosis, complex attitudes toward glucocorticoid therapy, and a desire for alternate treatment strategies. Future trials should look to include physical function as a measured outcome. Finally, our results call attention to the chronicity of PMR symptoms, challenging the paradigm of PMR as a self-limiting condition.
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References
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Georgia Harris declares no conflict of interest. Jessica Leung received speaker fees from Novartis. Jessica has participated on the advisory board and paid advisory board fees from Fresenius Kabi. Jessica has participated on the advisory board and paid advisory board fees and speaker fees from Eli Lilly. Jessica has participated on the advisory board and paid advisory board fees and speaker fees from AbbVie. Russell Buchanan declares no conflict of interest.
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Please note the data in this manuscript has been published as an abstract at the following conference proceedings:
- Harris G, Leung J, Buchanan R. Poster: Polymyalgia Rheumatica – Real World Experiences In A Single Tertiary Centre. Australian Rheumatology Association, Annual Scientific Meeting (2021).
- Harris G, Leung J, Buchanan R. Poster: Patient perspectives in polymyalgia rheumatica. Australian Rheumatology Association, Annual Scientific Meeting (2021).
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Harris, G.K., Leung, J.L. & Buchanan, R.R.C. Exploring the patient experience in polymyalgia rheumatica. Clin Rheumatol 42, 3421–3422 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-023-06794-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-023-06794-3