Photo Credit: Gorodenkoff
The following is a summary of “Feasibility of physiotherapist-led rheumatology triage: A randomized study,” published in the April 2024 issue of Rheumatology by Roberts et al.
With an insufficiency of rheumatologists, quick assessments in rheumatology care are unattainable. Physiotherapists can help in such scenarios by screening referrals for inflammatory arthritis (IA).
Researchers conducted a prospective study to examine whether physiotherapists, like rheumatologists, can accurately triage joint pain referrals to identify cases of IA in a rheumatology clinic.
They used a single-center, non-blinded, randomized study with referrals for joint pain randomized in a 1:1 ratio for treatment by physiotherapists-led and others by rheumatologist triage. Standardized information was collected at each stage, which was later compared for the diagnosis.
The results showed that physiotherapist-led 102 referrals for triage and rheumatologist-led 101 referrals. In the physiotherapist-led arm, 65% of referrals classified as urgent had IA, similar to 60% in the rheumatologists group. More referrals were declined by physiotherapists (24 vs. 8, P=0.002), leading to fewer semi-urgent cases (6 vs. 23, P<0.003). One IA case was misjudged by rheumatologists, causing a significant delay.
Investigators concluded that physio-led triage was as viable as rheumatologist triage for joint pain, which meant fewer patients needed in-clinic visits.
Source: jrheum.org/content/early/2024/04/10/jrheum.2023-1071
