Early diagnosis, focused treatment key to preventing long-term joint damage: Docs

Patna: The Bihar Orthopaedic Association (BOA) on Sunday organised a Continuing Medical Education (CME) programme on orthopaedic rheumatology in Patna, bringing together over 100 orthopaedic surgeons to deliberate on arthritis management, early diagnosis and surgical interventions.Addressing the gathering, BOA president Dr Amulya Kumar Singh stressed the importance of timely and structured treatment protocols for patients with rheumatological disorders to prevent long-term joint damage and improve quality of life. He also spoke on the clinical application of biologics in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and strategies to optimise surgical outcomes in complex cases.The scientific sessions covered clinical, diagnostic, pharmaceutical and surgical aspects of rheumatology. Dr S S Jha discussed inflammatory polyarthritis, comparing oral treatment options such as sulfasalazine and upadacitinib.Dr Amar Kumar Singh highlighted the role of radiology in early RA detection, while Dr Rajeev Anand elaborated on updated diagnostic criteria for spondyloarthritis (SpA). Pathologist Dr Pallavi Mehra spoke on laboratory diagnosis in RA, and Dr Pratap Patra outlined management protocols for juvenile idiopathic arthritis.Therapeutic and surgical strategies were also discussed in detail. Dr Kumar Abhinav examined clinical scenarios within the seronegative spectrum where arthritis is not classified as RA, while Dr Rizwana Barkat shared insights on psoriatic arthritis and related conditions.The surgical segment focused on specific challenges in RA cases. Dr Nishikant Kumar spoke on orthopaedic surgical complexities, followed by Dr Saurabh Chowdhary on managing RA-related foot deformities and Dr Arvind Gupta on shoulder replacement outcomes in inflammatory arthritis. Dr Sanjay Pandey concluded the presentations with a session on rehabilitation and restoring patient mobility.The programme ended with an interactive panel discussion, where experts emphasised the need for closer integration between medical rheumatology and orthopaedic surgery to enhance patient care.