Abstract

The Oxford Handbook of Rheumatology is a unique, pocket guide which emphasizes the clinical evidence-based approach to Rheumatology. Based on the content of the Oxford Textbook of Rheumatology, it provides practical guidelines to the management and diagnosis of patients with acute and chronic musculoskeletal disease. This new edition has been extensively updated and revised throughout to include the latest NICE guidelines and new chapters on rheumatic emergencies, drugs, chronic widespread pain, shoulder/neck pain and complementary medicine. It includes information on an expanded number of conditions and the new biologic therapies used in the treatment of inflammatory arthritis and connective tissue diseases. There is also greater emphasis on paediatric advice and management of the adolescent. The first section serves as a pragmatic guide to making a diagnosis given the characteristic way patients present with symptoms: what signs to look for; how to separate good reliable information from less valid information; how to investigate pragmatically and efficiently and finally how to manage. Useful information on the occurrence of rheumatic disease associated with other diseases is included. Written with an international audience in mind, incorporating UK, European, and US disease criteria where possible, the second section gives a run down of the main conditions seen by Rheumatologists. It covers soft-tissue rheumatology, backpain, degenerative diseases and all the more common and rare autoimmune diseases. Taking an evidence-based approach, this handbook emphasizes the clinical approach to rheumatic disease and is an essential guide for anyone who deals with patients with musculoskeletal disease.