Lard L R, Huizinga T W, Hazes J M, Vliet Vlieland T P
Department of Rheumatology, Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands.
J Rheumatol. 2001 Oct;28(10):2190-2.
To analyze whether sex differences in referral exist in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
At the Department of Rheumatology of the Leiden University Medical Center, a special early arthritis clinic (EAC) was established. General practitioners (GPs) were encouraged to refer patients with joint complaints to the EAC. Subsequently, the diagnosis RA was made by a rheumatologist.
In this report, 142 women and 82 men were included. The delays in patient's first encounter with a GP for both sexes were comparable. However, a significant difference in the GP's delay in referring female patients with RA to the EAC in comparison with male patients was observed (median of 93 days vs 58 days; p = 0.008).
This report determined GP referral delay of female patients to a rheumatologist. GPs should be made aware that early detection and early referral of patients with RA are crucial for early treatment.
分析类风湿关节炎（RA）患者在转诊方面是否存在性别差异。
在莱顿大学医学中心风湿病科设立了一个特殊的早期关节炎诊所（EAC）。鼓励全科医生（GPs）将有关节症状的患者转诊至EAC。随后，由风湿病学家做出RA的诊断。
本报告纳入了142名女性和82名男性。两性患者首次就诊于全科医生的延迟时间相当。然而，观察到全科医生将患有RA的女性患者转诊至EAC的延迟与男性患者相比存在显著差异（中位数为93天对58天；p = 0.008）。
本报告确定了女性患者转诊至风湿病学家的延迟情况。应使全科医生意识到，RA患者的早期检测和早期转诊对早期治疗至关重要。
