Ab0798 Primary Sjogren’s Syndrome – Is It Well Known in General Medical Practice?

Background: Primary Sjogren's syndrome belongs to the group of rare diseases. Secondary forms of the disease are diagnosed promptly by specialist rheumatologists, but primary forms of the syndrome remain unrecognized for a variously long periods of time. Patients are referred to different specialists. Rheumatologists diagnose primary Sjogren's syndrome at a relatively late stage (1,2). Objectives: This retrospective study assessed the level of awareness of general practitioners towards the diagnosis of primary Sjogren's syndrome by the number of patients referred to a specialist rheumatologist because of persistent "sicca'' symptoms. Methods: Retrospective study, based on electronic patients records Results: The diagnoses of 987 patients from the registry of rheumatologist from pre-hospital care for the period 2016 - 2019 were analyzed. Of these, 89 patients (9.01%) were referred for consultation by a general practitioner due to "sicca" symptoms. The average age of female patients was 55+- 13.5 years (N-78), and of male patients (N=11) is 47 +- 11.3 years. The frequency of symptoms is as follows: xerostomia - 49 patients out of 89 (55.05%), xerophthalmia (44 patients out of 89 - 49.43%), joint symptoms plus,,sicca ''symptoms (19 patients-21.34%), swelling of the parotid glands-7 patients (7.88%). The fact that for a period of 3.5 +- 2.3 years the patients were sent for consultations to specialists, other than a rheumatologist (ophthalmologists, dentists, endocrinologist, maxillofacial surgeons, infectionists etc), makes an impression. Out of a total of 987 patients consulted for the period 2016-2019, 89 of them have "sicca" symptoms. Criteria for primary Sjogren's syndrome covered 31 patients at the end of the rheumatological examinations and tests, which represents 3.14% for the studied retrospective 3-years period. Conclusion: Patients with "sicca" symptoms are initially referred by general practitioners to other specialists. The presence of joint symptoms shortens the patient's path to the specialist rheumatologist. Multidisciplinary training of family physicians is necessary for timely diagnosis of primary Sjogren's syndrome. REFERENCES: [1] Practical guidelines for the early diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome in primary healthcare. [2] Sisó-Almirall A, Meijer JM, Brito-Zerón P, Conangla L, Flores-Chavez A, González de Paz L, Bootsma H, Ramos-Casals M. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2021 Nov-Dec;39 Suppl 133(6):197-205. doi: 10.55563/clinexprheumatol/pal3z7. Epub 2021 Nov 29. [3] Prevalence of Sjögren's syndrome in patients with dry mouth in the region of Central Hungary. [4] Dézsi AJ, Erdei C, Demeter T, Kovács A, Nagy G, Mensch K, Németh O, Hermann P, Tóth G, Füst Á, Kiss EV, Kőhidai L, Zalatnai A, Márton K. Oral Dis. 2023 Oct;29(7):2756-2764. doi: 10.1111/odi.14264. Epub 2022 Jun 7. Acknowledgements: NIL. Disclosure of Interests: None declared.