Department of Medicine.
Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Department of Medicine.
Curr Opin Rheumatol. 2022 Jan 1;34(1):68-72. doi: 10.1097/BOR.0000000000000851.
To assess the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on patients with osteoarthritis (OA).
The COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected patients with OA irrespective of them contracting the infection. Patients with OA had a disruption in access to the healthcare system, which resulted in delays in joint replacement surgeries from cancellations of elective surgical procedures. On the other hand, the pandemic accelerated the drive towards telemedicine and telerehabilitation, with many nonurgent services being delivered remotely whenever possible. Cross-sectional studies showed that the majority of patients with OA were willing to accept the increased risks of contracting the COVID-19 infection and proceed with elective joint replacement surgeries.
The American College of Rheumatology and the European League Against Rheumatism issued guidelines for managing immune-mediated rheumatic diseases during the pandemic. However, these guidelines did not include recommendations for patients with OA.Healthcare providers, including physical therapists, should aim to schedule more frequent telemedicine follow-up appointments to maximize medical management while patients await elective joint procedures.
评估 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行对骨关节炎（OA）患者的影响。
COVID-19 大流行对 OA 患者造成了负面影响，无论他们是否感染了该病毒。OA 患者无法正常获得医疗保健系统的治疗，这导致关节置换手术因择期手术的取消而延迟。另一方面，大流行加速了远程医疗和远程康复的发展，只要有可能，许多非紧急服务都尽可能远程提供。横断面研究表明，大多数 OA 患者愿意接受感染 COVID-19 的风险增加，并进行择期关节置换手术。
美国风湿病学会和欧洲抗风湿病联盟发布了大流行期间管理免疫介导性风湿病的指南。然而，这些指南并未包括对 OA 患者的建议。医疗保健提供者，包括物理治疗师，应尽量安排更频繁的远程医疗随访预约，以在患者等待择期关节手术时最大限度地进行医学管理。
