Rheumatic and connective tissue disorders

Autoimmune and connective tissue disorders

Pregnant women with autoimmune rheumatic diseases, especially systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and systemic sclerosis, are at high risk of maternal disease flares, adverse fetal outcomes and potential drug teratogenic effects, making the management of these women particularly challenging. With improvements in diagnosis and treatment, however, these risks can be minimized by appropriate timing...

Anaesthesia in connective tissue disorders.

Patients with the more common connective tissue disorders require surgical operations more frequently than has been realized. They may present the anaesthetist with many potential problems. A few minutes of careful questioning and examination pre-operatively may prevent a tragic situation. A history of drug therapy is essential pre-operative information, particularly since many of these patient...

Epidemiology of connective tissue disorders.

The reported prevalence and incidence of connective tissue disorders are quite variable, depending on differences in study methodology. Most important differences are the study duration, the classification criteria used for diagnosis and the country in which the study was undertaken. Sjögren's syndrome has the highest prevalence ranging between 0.5 and 3% of a given population. The prevalence o...

Musculoskeletal, Connective Tissue and Bone Disorders

Some connective tissue disorders of the lung.

Many connective tissue disorders involve the lungs. The same clinical syndrome may be associated with several distinctive types of pathology in different patients. Fibrosing alveolitis is a common feature of a number of different syndromes. An hypothesis is set out in schematic form which may help to account for some of these differences and emphasizes the potential importance of the pulmonary ...