The conference, promoted by Bristol Myers Squibb, has allowed updating knowledge on Rheumatoid Arthritis and Associated Pulmonary Disease (AR-EPID)
The usefulness of Artificial Intelligence as a tool to estimate the prevalence of RA in Spain and to determine the frequency of RA-IDLP in all patients with RA has been studied in depth.
Around 2/3 of the patients with RA-IDLP present multiple comorbidities and multimorbidities. The main associated factors are the presence of EPID, advanced age, erosions and high levels of PCR.
MADRID, 27 Mar.
Spanish and Portuguese rheumatologists have participated this weekend in the fifth edition of the ABATAR conference that has been held blended in Madrid with the aim of updating knowledge on rheumatoid arthritis and its comorbidities.
Rheumatic diseases can be debilitating for millions of people around the world who often live with chronic pain that can make simple tasks and daily activities difficult. Although advances in research and therapeutic options have occurred, patients may not respond to available treatments and continue to endure symptoms and disease progression, which can cause organ damage and significantly affect organ quality. of life, in addition to contributing a great burden of morbidity and mortality in this population.
The meeting, organized by Bristol Myers Squibb under the slogan ‘Beyond the joints’, has been coordinated and directed by Dr. Jose Andrés Román Ivorra, head of the Rheumatology service at the La Fe University Hospital in Valencia and professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences from the Catholic University of Valencia.
Extra-articular manifestations of RA
Doctor Román Ivorra explains that seropositive forms of rheumatoid arthritis are more prone to suffer from extra-articular manifestations of the disease. One of them is diffuse interstitial lung disease (DILD), a relatively frequent complication in patients with RA and manifested by inflammation of the pulmonary alveoli.
The participants in the meeting have discussed the multiple comorbid conditions that coexist in many patients with AR-IDLP, with a considerable impact on health. “For example, these patients are associated with increased cardiovascular risk, excess mortality, and respiratory causes are the leading cause of death. Furthermore, RA patients are at higher risk of severe COVID-19, especially those with Interstitial Lung Disease.” , says the coordinator of the conference ABATAR.
“DILD, being a serious complication, reduces the life expectancy of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and requires a multidisciplinary therapeutic approach,” says Dr. Román Ivorra. This has led to collaboration between two medical societies, the Spanish Society of Rheumatology (SER) and the Spanish Society of Pneumology and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR) for a multidisciplinary approach to this complication.
“At BMS we also try to collaborate with professionals, academic institutions, patients and associations, to better address the unmet needs of patients and with the greatest transparency”, declared Javier Corral, Business Unit Director Innovative Medicine BMS Spain
A pioneering study, RA-WILD, was also presented at the meeting, the first worldwide in the field of rheumatology that uses machine learning and natural language processing on data from medical records. “Using these tools, we have been able to analyze more than 60 million documents from approximately 3 million patients to estimate the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis and interstitial lung disease across various regions in Spain,” adds Dr. Román Ivorra. .
About Bristol Myers Squibb
Bristol Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients overcome serious diseases. Corporate Website: www.bms.es
Emisor: Bristol Myers Squibb
Contact: Bristol Myers Squibb Communication, Manuela Piedra, Manuela.piedra@bms.com
