Internists and Autoimmune Diseases: the Portuguese National Registry

• Autor(a) principal: Tribolet de Abreu, Tiago
• Data de Publicação: 2006
• Outros Autores: José Silva, Nuno, Portelinha, Deolinda, Santos, Eugénia, Brito, Helena, Barros, Maria João, Barbosa, Paulo, Campos, Luís
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://revista.spmi.pt/index.php/rpmi/article/view/1582
• topic: doenças autoimunes; artrite reumatóide; lupus; sjögren; medicina interna; anti-TNF; autoimmune diseases; rheumatoid arthritis; lupus; Sjögren; internal medicine; anti-TNF

Background: The clinical variability and the diagnostic diffi culty inherent to all autoimmune diseases leads to their frequent diagnosis and treatment by Internal Medicine specialists. Although it is known that many Portuguese internists work in this fi eld, the real dimension of this activity is unknown.Methods: An inquiry was sent by mail to the 118 Internal Medicine departments registered in the Portuguese Internal Medicine Society. The data obtained was put in an electronic database.Results: We had 44 answers from the 118 Internal Medicine departments, of which 37 were from departments with a specifi c activity in autoimmune disease. A total number of 158 internists follow 6.000 to 13.000 patients with autoimmune disease. The most prevalent were Rheumatoid Arthritis (1.181-2.305 patients), Lupus Erythematosus (708-1.395 patients) and Sjögren’s syndrome (320-665 patients). Therapy with anti-TNF agents is given to 135 patients, in 17 departments.Conclusions: In Portugal, internists follow a high number of patients with diverse autoimmune diseases, with a national distribution.