Abstract

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease associated with high morbidity and premature death. Methodology: A cross sectional study was carried out to access the clinical features, risk factors and treatment pattern of arthritis patients at a tertiary care hospital. Quality of life of patients was measured using WHOQOL-brief questionnaire. Result: Among 100 arthritis patients (37% males and 63% females), majority were aged between 51 and 70 years (76%) and living in rural areas (80%). Most part of study participants had low level of education and poor economic conditions. 62% of participants had overweight and 55% of participants had family history of arthritis. Study participants were diagnosed with osteoarthritis (60%), rheumatoid arthritis (28%) and gouty arthritis (12%). Majority of patients were diagnosed using X-rays (84%). Prominent clinical features like joint pain (95%), peripheral neuropathy (84%), morning stiffness (80%) and inflammation (56%) were observed along with regular pain. Co-morbid conditions like hypertension (37%), diabetes (22%), and COVID-19 (14%) were highly observed in the study patients. Moreover, physical domain of life of the patients was most affected by arthritis. NSAIDs (53%) were reported as highly prescribed drugs followed by corticosteroids (10%), immunosuppressant (9%), uric acid reducers (4%) and DMARDs (2%) among all type of arthritis patients. Conclusion: Patient counseling, control of risk factors, appropriate treatment based on severity can reduce burden of arthritis and improve quality of life of patients. Conclusion: Patient counseling, control of risk factors, appropriate treatment based on severity can reduce burden of arthritis and improve quality of life of patients.