Abstract: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common arthritis, a common cause of disability and frequent cause of consultation with a GP. OA is predominantly managed in primary care, and comprehensive guidance suggests that much can be done to alleviate symptoms from osteoarthritis; combinations of therapeutic options including pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments are recommended. Our first objective was to overview the attitude of GPs about osteoarthritis and its management in primary general care practice. a systematic review study was performed and relevant publications were searched from three databases (PubMed, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library) without any limitation on time (up to October 2016). We also searched for articles in the references of selected publications and the main congresses of rheumatology for OA (American College of Rheumatology (ACR), European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) and Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI)) and congresses of endocrinology (Endocrine society's annual meeting, European Congress of Endocrinology, American Diabetes Association and European Association for the Study of Diabetes). This review highlights marked divergence over management, between patient and doctor. Patients may have complex expectations and fears regarding treatment that are inadequately explored in the consultation. While patients seem keen to explore non-pharmacological options, GPs report frustration and lack of knowledge around issues to do with lifestyle change. When asked about challenges to management, GPs tend to report resource issues or time in the consultation, or patient factors, whereas patients report lack of communication.
Keywords: Osteoarthritis.
Title: Osteoarthritis in general practice, Systematic review
Author: Alrashdi, Abdulelah Rashed A., Aljohani, Hassan Hamdan N., Alfuhigi, Khalid Dhaifallah A., Alfuhigi, Abdullah Sami S.
International Journal of Healthcare Sciences
ISSN 2348-5728 (Online)
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