Rheumatology

General rheumatology services

• adult inflammatory arthritis
• axial spondyloarthritis 
• acute calcium pyrophosphate (CPP) or crystal arthritis (pseudogout)
• enteropathic arthritis
• enthesitis related arthritis
• gout and calcium crystal conditions 
• juvenile idiopathic arthritis
• osteoarthritis 
• osteoporosis 
• palindromic arthritis
• rheumatoid arthritis
• virtual biologics service

Autoimmune and multi-inflammatory conditions

• adult-onset Still’s disease (AOSD)
• Behçet's syndrome
• dermatomyositis and myositis
• giant cell arteritis (GCA)
• Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA)
• haemophagocytic lymphohisticytosis (HLH)
• polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR)
• Sjögren’s syndrome
• systemic lupus erythematosus
• vasculitis (large and small vessel)

We offer a monthly adolescent rheumatology service. This is facilitated by consultant rheumatologists and consultant paediatricians. 

The service is run within children’s services and has links to paediatric rheumatology at Great Ormond Street Hospital, adolescent rheumatology at University College Hospital, and our paediatric services, including orthopaedics, physiotherapy and dermatology.

We are proud to be members of the British Society of Pediatric and Adolescent Rheumatology and the Barbara Ansell National network for Adolescent Rheumatology.

In our back pain clinic, our experienced advanced practitioner physiotherapists can help you deal with low back pain, sciatica, neck, and arm pain, as well as pain in the thoracic area of the spine. 

Your appointment will begin with a detailed discussion of your pain, how the pain ‘behaves’, and how it affects your daily life. This is followed by a physical examination.

Further tests will be arranged if needed, and you will be given a diagnosis and clear explanation of the nature of the problem.
You are encouraged to ask questions to fully understand the problem, as understanding the nature of the pain is the first step in effectively managing it.

Onward management of your pain can be organised from the back pain clinic, including physiotherapy, exercise advice, epidural injections, and nerve root blocks as appropriate.

The back clinic works closely with our physiotherapy service , so that a cohesive care package can be provided. 

Our psoriatic arthritis services are facilitated by a consultant rheumatologist who also runs a monthly combined clinic with a dermatology consultant.

The clinic treats patients with a spectrum of skin and joint symptoms and has close links with the psoriasis dermatology service.

The trust has a special interest in adopting a holistic approach to patient health and wellbeing, understanding the wider impact that psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis and the effects its treatments have on a person with this condition.

We have good access and recruitment for international psoriatic arthritis clinical trials. This provides opportunities to access new biological therapies for psoriatic arthritis and associated conditions, such as axial spondylo-arthropathy or ankylosing spondylitis.

Our trust is a tertiary referral centre for sarcoidosis. 

Our service combines the expertise of consultant rheumatologists and respiratory consultants to provide a multi-disciplinary approach to diagnosis and management of this inflammatory disease.

We have prompt access to PET-CT scan, pulmonary function and extended respiratory services, echocardiogram, high resolution CT imaging, cardiac MRI and on-site hepatology, dermatology, ear, nose and throat, and neurology services for our patients.

We also look after patients with connective tissue disease such as scleroderma, vasculitis and other systemic inflammatory diseases in this clinic.

At Barnet Hospital and Edgware Community Hospital, we run a specialist axial spondyloarthritis service. 

The team are part of the NASS (National Axial Spondyloarthritis Society) Aspiring to Excellence Programme, which is a national initiative focusing on quality and service improvement.   
  
If you are given a diagnosis of axial spondyloarthritis, you will be invited to our virtual patient education group and then followed up by the rheumatology team. 

Management of the condition may involve medication, but you will also have access to our specialist axial spondyloarthritis physiotherapy team. 

The clinical trials team facilitate several trials across most of our conditions.

If you would like to take part in any of our studies or would like some additional information, please contact the clinical team:

Email: rf.clinicaltrials@nhs.net
Tel: 020 7317 7544 

Rheumatology clinical trials

RA-BRIDGE

This is a randomised active controlled, parallel group phase 3b/3 study of Baricitinib in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis. 

ALLEGORY (Lupus)

This is a phase three randomised double blind, placebo controlled, multicentre study to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of a medication called Obinutuzumab in patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. 

NAV3-32

The study investigating Tilmanocept administered intravenously in patients with rheumatoid arthritis synovial. This study will include imaging of hands and wrists followed by an ultrasound guided synovial (fluid) biopsy. 

ARGX-113-2007

The study is phase 2/3 randomised double-blind placebo controlled, study investigating the tolerance, safety, and effectiveness of Efgartigimod PH20 drug in adults with active idiopathic inflammatory condition. 

JASMINE

Is a multicentre study investigating the tolerance, safety and efficacy of a subcutaneous injection known as Anifrolumab, in patients with Polymyositis.  

CAIN457O12301

Is a randomised 24 week double blind, placebo controlled, multicentre Phase 3 study to assess the safety and effectiveness of Secukinumab compared to placebo in adults with rotator cuff tendinopathy. 

British Society for Rheumatology Psoriatic Arthritis Register (BSR-PsA)

The study is an observational cohort study following patients with psoriatic arthritis starting biologic or targeted synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs. 

BILAG Biologics Prospective Cohort

This is an observational study following up patients with systemic lupus erythematosus started on biologic therapies. 

British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register for Rheumatoid Arthritis (BSRBR-RA)

This is an ongoing observational cohort study looking at long term effects of anti-TNF therapy in people living with rheumatoid arthritis. 

Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA) and Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR)

This is a cross-sectional observational study finding genetic determinants of GCA and PMR susceptibility. A one off blood test sample is taken to investigate genetic analysis.