[Peripheral arthritis in family practice]

Osteoarthritis is a common disease of the cartilage in a joint for which the general practitioner (GP) is frequently consulted. In this contribution the current policy of GPs is described with respect to patients with peripheral osteoarthritis. For this purpose, the medical records of 196 patients from 14 Dutch general practitioners were studied with regard to the GPs management, and the GPs were interviewed about their management. Also, the burden of osteoarthritis was assessed in terms of quality of life for 198 patients. Moreover, the effects of two nonsteroidal treatments (nabumetone versus piroxicam) were studied in 198 patients. GPs management is heterogeneous. The results of the interviews supported this finding. The quality of life of patients with osteoarthritis was significantly reduced in several areas of daily living. After treatment with nonsteroidals the patients' status improved, according to both the GPs and the patients. The GPs and the patients' perspective on change correlated weakly. In future research, it would be interesting to explore these two perspectives.