The “four principles” of standardized rheumatology treatment Rheumatoid arthritis is a common joint disease with a high incidence and disability rate. In China, the incidence of rheumatoid arthritis has reached 3 per 1,000. Since there is no cure for rheumatoid arthritis, patients often pessimistically refer to it as “undead cancer”, or treat it negatively, or seek medical help indiscriminately, resulting in aggravation of the disease. Although rheumatoid can not be cured, but it can be controlled. With standardized treatment, it is possible to keep the disease at the primary stage and not to develop further. The standard treatment boils down to “four principles” – Principle 1: Early diagnosis Rheumatoid arthritis, also known as rheumatoid, is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease whose cause is not yet known and belongs to autoimmune inflammatory diseases. The disease is progressing rapidly, not early detection and timely treatment, it only takes six months to a year to develop into joint deformity, resulting in disability, and can even cause damage to internal organs! Therefore, early detection and diagnosis is crucial. Once you experience pain in the peripheral joints of the body, such as swelling and pain in the joints of the hands, feet, shoulders, elbows and knees, especially in the small joints of the hands, as well as morning stiffness (difficulty in making fists in the morning), you should consult the rheumatology department. It should be noted that the swelling and pain of peripheral joints in rheumatoid patients is often symmetrical and lasts for a longer period of time, unlike some other osteoarthritis that changes quickly. This requires a detailed examination by a specialist, which leads to a clear diagnosis and differentiation from other diseases, so that rheumatoid can be detected and treated early and stifled before rheumatoid develops into joint deformity. Principle 2: rational use of drugs The current internationally recognized rheumatoid treatment method is the combination of drug therapy, that is, the combination of drugs, such as first-line drugs and second-line drugs, that is, the treatment of the symptoms of drugs and drugs to treat the root cause should be used well together. Generally speaking, long-term adherence to the standardized application of rheumatoid control drugs has been proven to be effective. Many patients with rheumatoid rheumatism have been effectively controlled after long-term adherence to standardized medication under the guidance of doctors. For example, methotrexate, lorazepam, leflunomide and so on. In addition, the latest international and domestic progress in rheumatoid drugs is the application of some biological agents, although the price is high, but the effect is good. At present, a large number of rheumatoid patients are outside the regular drug treatment. Due to pessimism about the disease, the medication is intermittent; or there is a disease, hoping for the “panacea” that claims to “overcome rheumatoid”. In fact, there is no cure for rheumatoid. Many “magic pills” are just some “painkillers” mixed with a lot of hormones, which can certainly make joint pain relief quickly, but there is damage to the joints, and it is easy to repeat, and form a dependence, bringing huge side effects, such as osteoporosis, shape However, they can cause damage to the joints and can easily be repeated and become dependent on them. Principle 3: Regular follow-up Because rheumatoid disease is not curable, it often remains with the patient for life and may develop at any time. Therefore, the disease must be closely monitored, which requires the guidance and assistance of a specialist. This requires patients to be able to cooperate well with their doctors in treatment. The specialist chooses the appropriate medication for the patient after a thorough examination, including liver and kidney function tests, and establishes an individualized treatment plan for each patient’s different conditions (age, organ damage, severity of the disease, early or late access to medical care, liver and kidney function, etc.). Doctors also need to monitor and reduce adverse drug reactions at all times, and adjust the drugs in a targeted manner to reduce joint pain and inflammation, protect joint function and improve quality of life. After the condition has stabilized, the physician also needs to reduce the dosage of medication at his or her discretion and even consider whether to stop the medication. All of this requires close contact between the patient and the specialist. Therefore, rheumatoid patients should maintain bi-monthly “follow-up” visits with their doctors. Principle 4: Persistence The treatment and control of rheumatoid is in principle “lifelong”, which means that patients need to work for a lifetime to control the disease. Since this is a long-term project, patients need to have the perseverance to persevere and not to give up halfway. Clinically, there are many patients who cannot properly adhere to the regular treatment, and in the middle of hearing about which kind of prescription, they blindly stop trying, which only results in irreversible damage, rheumatoid relapse and aggravation, and then return to the regular treatment has been unable to return to heaven.