Standardizing Treatment of Children with Polyarticular Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis to Improve Outcomes
Published on
CHOP News
Improve Outcomes
Reduce Suffering
Increase Effectiveness and Efficiency
Why is this important?
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) treats approximately 500 children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Polyarticular JIA (Poly-JIA) is a severe subtype that can cause joint damage, poor growth and development, limited mobility, and pain. There is significant variation in how rheumatologists approach the evaluation and treatment of patients with Poly-JIA, which can impact outcomes.
What we did
Our multidisciplinary rheumatology team created a “treat to target” approach by standardizing how we evaluate and treat patients with Poly-JIA. We designed a database to document disease activity and made sure that physicians reviewed a standard disease activity score at each visit. We created algorithms to help doctors consistently provide optimal treatment for our patients with Poly-JIA throughout the disease course. The team also documented whether disease activity was “at target.”
Results
We reduced Poly-JIA disease activity by one-third, which reduced the need to perform steroid joint injections.
Updated May, 2020