Multimorbidity Screening Program Enhances Management of Chronic Inflammatory Rheumatism Patients

Abstract Background A program was established at Montpellier University Hospital to screen and prevent multimorbidities in chronic inflammatory rheumatism. To evaluate the impact of this program, we conducted a systematic follow-up reassessment. The study aimed to assess the application of initial assessment recommendations and variations in clinico-biological parameters. Methods The application of the initial recommendations was evaluated during a systematic standardized visit with the first 198 patients reassessed. Results The median time from initial screening to the follow-up visit was 24 months (interquartile range = 12; 36). At the initial workup, a mean of 3.69 ± 1.72 recommendations (/11) were issued per patient (n = 192). The mean number of recommendations implemented was 2.53 ± 1.46 per patient. Initial recommendations were applied in 60/110 (54.5%) patients with lipid levels above the target, in 30/34 (88.2%) with high blood pressure, and in 18/22 (81.8%) with hyperglycemia. In addition, 79/128 (61.7%) of patients followed vaccination recommendations and 64/103 (62.1%) updated their cancer screening. Overall, 19/60 (31.6%) patients stopped smoking. Levels of low-density lipoprotein and total cholesterol decreased significantly for patients with an initial cholesterol recommendation (-0.23 ± 0.38 g/l, p = 0.01, n = 26; -0.25 ± 0.47 g/l, p = 0.03, n = 21). Conclusion The medium-term evaluation of the screening and prevention program demonstrates the good application of recommendations and objective improvement of several multimorbidity criteria.