Table 4. Opinion of general practitioners (n = 1229) and rheumatologists (n = 110) on interventions by general practitioners in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases.
| General practitioners | Rheumatologists | p value * | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Therapy with glucocorticoids by the GP before referral | |||
| no | 98 (8%) | 35 (32%) | |
| sometimes a | 583 (49%) | 62 (57%) | |
| yes, always | 512 (43%) | 12 (11%) | <0.001 |
| Therapy with DMARDs by the GP before referral | |||
| no | 553 (46%) | 52 (47%) | |
| sometimes a | 401 (34%) | 41 (37%) | |
| yes, always | 243 (20%) | 17 (15%) | 0.440 |
| Clinical check-up and laboratory tests during treatment with DMARDs by the GP | |||
| no | 4 (0%) | 0 (0%) | |
| in exceptional cases | 42 (4%) | 6 (5%) | |
| yes, but specialist check up every 6 mo. | 559 (47%) | 32 (29%) | |
| yes, but specialist check-up every 3 mo. | 225 (19%) | 63 (57%) | |
| yes, only by the GP | 369 (31%) | 9 (8%) | 0.387 |
| Administration of biologics performed by the GP | |||
| no | 222 (22%) | 15 (14%) | |
| yes | 790 (78%) | 91 (86%) | 0.062 |
| Subsequent prescription of biologics by the GP | |||
| no | 108 (9%) | 28 (26%) | |
| yes | 1040 (91%) | 81 (74%) | <0.001 |
a Restricted to special circumstances (e.g. extraordinarily long waiting times for the rheumatology appointment or limited availability of a rheumatologist)
* p value based on χ2 for trend or Fisher's exact test