HHE Rheumatology 2019 | Page 12

RHEUMATOLOGY SPONSORED EliA rheumatic disease tests Best-in-class diagnostics that make a measurable difference to the management of patients with rheumatic diseases Sponsored by Thermo Fisher Scientific Thermo Fisher Scientific – committed to continuous innovation For almost 40 years, ImmunoDiagnostics (the immunodiagnostics experts within Thermo Fisher Scientific), previously known as Phadia, have maintained position at the forefront of allergy testing and become one of the world’s leading autoimmune disease test providers. Thermo Fisher Scientific develop, manufacture and market complete blood test systems to enable the clinical diagnosis and monitoring of allergy, asthma and autoimmune diseases. Their range of fully-automated systems supports healthcare professionals and optimises efficiency in laboratories worldwide. Always striving to provide the most clinically relevant tests, they are committed to continuous innovation to improve patient outcomes. 12 HHE 2019 | hospitalhealthcare.com The challenge of the rheumatic disease patient The often-vague and overlapping symptoms of early rheumatic disease can make differentiation challenging, 1 leading to an average time to diagnosis of 6-42 months, disease dependent. 2-8 Delays in diagnosis are associated with poorer patient outcomes, 9-17 so clinically relevant, reliable testing is vital from the beginning. Since rheumatic disease patients carry an increased risk of comorbidities, including other autoimmune conditions, cardiovascular disease and malignancy, 18-20 early intervention is key. 21-25 Early, accurate diagnosis can help reduce the burden on the healthcare system When patients suffer from non-specific symptoms such as fatigue and arthralgia, tests for anti- nuclear antibodies (ANA) by indirect immunofluorescence or solid phase ANA screens, anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibodies, and rheumatoid factor (RF) are