Interventional Rheumatology Workshop

Synopsis:

Interventional rheumatology is a burgeoning field involving minimally invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases, these procedures include ultrasound-guided interventions, medical arthroscopy, and salivary gland and muscle biopsies. Despite the global increase in ultrasound-guided procedures among rheumatologists, practices such as medical arthroscopy, salivary gland biopsy, and muscle biopsy still need to be utilized in Asia-Pacific.

The term ‘medical arthroscopy’ was used by Chaturvedi et al. in an article published in the International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases in 2016, where it was defined as arthroscopy performed by rheumatologists for diagnostic purposes. Arthroscopic synovial biopsy is considered the gold standard for obtaining synovial tissues. In comparison with other modalities, arthroscopy can provide a larger volume of tissue, assess macroscopic characteristics of tissue, and obtain tissue from joint areas not accessible from ultrasound. Moreover, arthroscopic synovial biopsy yields a better RNA quality measured by RNA integrity (RIN) than ultrasound-guided needle biopsy, the most commonly employed modality by rheumatologists nowadays. In-office needle arthroscopy (IONA) is safe, well-tolerated, and can be performed by clinicians in the office setting.

Salivary gland biopsy plays an important role in diagnosing or excluding Sjogren syndrome and its mimics. Muscle biopsy plays a key role in the investigation of myopathies. Sural nerve biopsies & skin biopsies are other interventions for vascultis

The proposed lecture/workshop on Interventional Rheumatology aims to promote and advance interventional skills among rheumatologists in the Asia Pacific region. Our vision is to establish a platform for training, research, and clinical excellence in interventional rheumatology.