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Rheumatoid arthritis

Why wait? Explaining delays in seeking therapy for early arthritis

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Early diagnosis and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis improves long-term outcomes and reduces or halts joint damage progression. However, delays at the patient and medical system levels remain a barrier to early diagnosis and therapy, despite the presence of early arthritis clinics designed to expedite treatment.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to acknowledge Dr Kevin Smart for language support ahead of submission.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Experimental Medicine and Rheumatology, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London, EC1M 6BQ, UK

    Fabiola Atzeni

  2. Rheumatology Unit, L. Sacco University Hospital, Via GB Grassi 74, Milan, 0127, Italy

    Piercarlo Sarzi-Puttini

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  1. Fabiola Atzeni
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  2. Piercarlo Sarzi-Puttini
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Correspondence to Piercarlo Sarzi-Puttini.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Atzeni, F., Sarzi-Puttini, P. Why wait? Explaining delays in seeking therapy for early arthritis. Nat Rev Rheumatol 8, 190–191 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2012.24

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