Idiopathic Arthritis Case Study

During my junior year of high school, I had the opportunity to volunteer at the Arthritis walk in Philadelphia. Volunteering at the event allowed me to gain deeper intellectual engagement and also influenced my future career. At the event, I had the opportunity to meet several people who suffered with Arthritis. When observing the many effects that Arthritis had on people it widened my eyes to the lack of healthcare in society. By the end of the day a lightbulb went off in my head and I knew for sure that I wanted a career in medicine. I was certain that a career in health services was for me because each person with arthritis warmed my heart and my mind began wondering about endless ways to better their situation. Since I was a young girl I was sensitive, caring, and always trying to find a way to help someone out of a bad situation. There are

Arthritis is known as a very common condition, which is considered just not one disease

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), previously known as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), is an autoinflammatory disease that begins before the age of 16. (2) The cause behind JIA is currently unknown. Symptoms of JIA are a fever (a rash usually accompanying the fever as well), enlarged spleen, presence of arthritis, and also always a sign of systemic inflammation

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic syndrome that is characterized by inflammation of the peripheral joints, but it may also involve the lungs, heart, blood vessels, and eyes. The prevalence of this autoimmune disease is between 0.3% to 1.5% of the population in the United States (Feinberg, pp 815). It affects women two to three times more often than men, and the onset of RA is usually between 25 and 50 years of age, but it can occur at any age (Reed, pp 584). RA can be diagnosed by establishing the presence of persistent joint pain, swelling in a symmetric distribution, and prolonged morning stiffness. RA usually affects multiple joints, such as the hands, wrists, knees, elbows, feet, shoulders, hips, and small hand joints. RA is

Most of the time when we think about this disease we immediately think about the joint damage but this disease can affect multiple areas within the body. Pericarditis can occur during a severe flare which can interfere with the hearts ability to work well. Also, a decrease in red blood cells can occur which leads to anemia. Thrombocytosis is another complication in which the inflammation leads to increased levels of platelets within the blood. This can cause clotting and lead to strokes. Within the lungs another possible complication is that of pleurisy which causes breathing to be a painful process. Rheumatoid arthritis can cause nodules to form on the lungs and the heart as well which can lead to a variety of complications. Susceptibility to infection is a great concern, not only because of the disease itself but usually the immune suppressing medicines that treat it. This disease also causes many problems within the eyes. Inflammation of the sclera and Sjogren’s Sydrome can occur which can lead to dry, red, irritated and painful eyes. In the skin, nodules and vasculitis (inflammation of the blood vessels) can

The patient is 67-year-old gentleman who was discharged from a nursing home 2 days ago after 3 months stay. The patient had a right ruptured quadriceps tendon which was repaired in a Morris Town hospital and he was in the Atrium of Wayne for rehabilitation and discharged home. Since being discharged home he has presented himself three separate times to the emergency room, the final one being on 6/10 here at St. Joseph's where he was admitted. He presented the previous day and he was discharged. The patient presented because his right leg was collapsing while using a walker. CT done in the ED of his right knee shows that he has severe tricompartmental arthritis and loose bones. The patient is in severe pain and he is unable to ambulate. The patient lives alone in his own home. The decision was made that the safest thing was for him to be admitted acutely inpatient to try to sort through the issues that have led up to this point. No arrangements have been made for him to have any outpatient therapy. or any from the Atrium at Wayne. His medical history is significant for having previous cardiac caths. He developed MRSA infection after a quadriceps rupture in Morristown. He has allergic reactions to Metformin (not quite sure what the reaction is). As previously stated he lives alone in a home in Totowa. Physical therapy evaluation reveals the patient is not safe ambulating with a walker and obviously needs intervention. He will need some type of assistive help in the home or long-term care. After much discussion the Atrium agreed to take the patient back while we work through the issues of how he could be cared for in a

There has been multiple treatments discovered for JIA. Some of these include taking a medication, doing therapy, exercising, having an injection, or having surgery. Doctors have also found a variety of types of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. One of them is Systemic JIA, Oligoarthritis, Psoriatic arthritis is another type of JIA, Enthesitis related arthritis. Undifferentiated arthritis, Polyarticular arthritis, Rheumatoid factor plus and Rheumatoid factor negative.

Rheumatoid Arthritis is a systemic autoimmune disorder. There are more than 100 different types of Arthritis, yet it is estimated that it affects approximately 1% of the population in the Western World. The disease is generally diagnosed in middle aged adults and the elderly. In rarer cases, children can also develop the disease and it is called Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. Women are three times more likely to have rheumatoid arthritis than men. (Stevens) Many people living with Rheumatoid Arthritis appear to be healthy individuals, but suffer internally. Today, I will discuss what rheumatoid arthritis is, how it is diagnosed, and how it affects the body.

The traits of this autoimmune situation are recognized to have an effect on the joints via making them swollen, infected, and particularly painful.

     The course that this disease takes is highly unpredictable in the first few years. This disease can be mild with few symptoms or it can be serious affecting the child’s life on a daily basis. Symptoms can worsen and disappear without clear reason. Sometimes a pattern for the acute and remission phases can be established, but not always.

February 14th to most people is the day of love. Couples make reservations at the fanciest restaurants, offices are filled with flowers and chocolates, people get in engaged, girls cry about being alone. I on the other hand cried for another reason. February 14th changed my life.

Today in the United States there is an estimated 1.3 million people living and dealing with rheumatoid arthritis (Arthritis Foundation). One might ask, what exactly is rheumatoid arthritis? Well, rheumatoid arthritis, also commonly known as RA, is a form of inflammatory disease and an autoimmune disease. If the person is a minor, or below the age of six-teen, then the chronic disease can also go by the name of juvenile arthritis. The juvenile arthritis is, “Defined as chronic inflammation of the synovial joints, with unknown etiology, which starts before the age of sixteen and persists for at least six weeks” (Hink et al 1). This disease can affect anyone with a functioning immune system. Out of the 1.3 million people in the United States that have rheumatoid arthritis, 70% of that number is women (RA.com). Once again there are no certain reasons as to who receives this disease whether its children, elders, Caucasians, African Americans, etc. But once they do receive the illness, then it affects them immensely. “The disease is systemic, meaning it can occur throughout the whole body. It’s a chronic disease, so it can’t be cured” (Arthritis Foundation). The pain, stiffness and fatigue can affect the entire body. “RA occurs when your immune system, the system that protects your body from outside harm, mistakenly starts attacking healthy tissue” (RA.com). Rheumatoid arthritis is an incurable disease that is affecting

Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis is a disease in children 16 years or younger that causes inflamed joints. (Haines, 2007) JIA includes 2 or more of these symptoms; ability of motion is impaired, motion causing pain or tenderness, or increased warmth in a joint and occurring in more than one joint for 6 weeks or more. (Espinosa, M., et al., 2012) In the study of Anakinra effects on JIA, the category Systemic JIA is used in the trial. (Nigrovic, P. A., et al., 2011) Many different treatments are used to treat JIA and some arguments have broken out as to

The process involves an inflammatory response of the capsule around the joints (synovium) secondary to swelling (hyperplasia) of synovial cells, excess synovial fluid, and the development of fibrous tissue (pannus) in the synovium (Gerd et al.,2014). RA is more prevalent among women than men, and usually develops in the fourth and fifth decades of life, with 80% of the total cases occurring between ages 35 and 50 (Kavanaugh and Lipsky 1996).RA reduces lifespan on average from three to twelve years. RA is associated with decreased physical function, disability, under employment, and overall diminished quality of life. (Maclean C H et al., 2000). When it occurs in children it is called Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. The incidence and prevalence of RA differs significantly over time and between continents. The prevalence in developing countries ranges between 0.1 and 0.5% (Akar et al., 2004). Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic inflammatory illness with prevalence of approximately 0.75% in India (Ausaf et al.,

Although life bestows upon everyone various challenges, a patient suffering with rheumatoid arthritis has a grim and debilitating existence. Thus, Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a form of arthritis that produces pain, inflammation, stiffness, redness, tenderness, and extreme deformity of many joints of the human body. Thus, everyday activities pose a significant obstacle for a patient with this enervating condition. Surprisingly, most people RA lead highly productive, full, and rather satisfying lives. Consequently, there are is an estimated two to three million Americans diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, and about 200,000 newly diagnosed cases annually. Therefore, about 1 percent of the population has this condition, which affects people of all races and nationalities in this country. Even though, citizens at all stages in life can develop rheumatoid arthritis, it is most commonly touches people in their twenties, thirties, and forties. Nevertheless, research reveals that RA is three times more prevalent in women populace than men (Shlotzhauer and Hoplans 2014). Therefore, this brief research will disclose the definition of Rheumatoid Arthritis, patient prevalence, diagnosis, prognosis, and what patients experience that suffers with this condition.