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VIDEO: How to optimize outcomes for patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis
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DESTIN, Fla. — At the Congress of Clinical Rheumatology Annual Meeting, Carol A. Langford, MD, MHS, spoke about how to optimize outcomes for patients with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis.
Langford said monitoring after medication is important to prevent relapse, treatment toxicity, infection and the emergence of other diseases. She most frequently obtains monthly laboratory visits that include blood counts, chemistries, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein and urinalysis, which allow physicians to look for the emergence of glomerulonephritis. In addition, physicians should teach patients and families about what to watch out for, talk to them about their illness and medication, and discuss what they should report to their physicians, Langford said.