Skip Navigation


Rheumatology Advance Access originally published online on May 11, 2005
Rheumatology 2005 44(8):1043-1046; doi:10.1093/rheumatology/keh683
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
44/8/1043    most recent
keh683v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Liddell, W. G.
Right arrow Articles by McHugh, N. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Liddell, W. G.
Right arrow Articles by McHugh, N. J.
Related Collections
Right arrow Soft Tissue Rheumatism
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oupjournals.org

Joint and soft tissue injections: a survey of general practitioners

W. G. Liddell, C. R. Carmichael and N. J. McHugh

Research & Clinical Effectiveness Unit, Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, Upper Borough Walls, Bath BA1 1RL, UK.

Correspondence to: W. G. Liddell, RACE, Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, Upper Borough Walls, Bath BA1 1RL, UK. E-mail: william.liddell{at}rnhrd-tr.swest.nhs.uk

Objectives. To determine the type of joint and soft tissue injections carried out by general practitioners (GPs) in the Bath area and factors affecting activity.

Methods. A questionnaire was sent to 360 GPs requesting information on injections carried out during the previous 12 months, referral pathways for injection, barriers to injecting and training.

Results. We received 251 replies. The commonest injections were for tennis elbow, glenohumeral joint, knee, supraspinatus tendonitis and carpal tunnel. The majority of GPs (66.4%) carry out most injections themselves, 26.3% refer to a colleague and 7.3% refer to secondary care. Over half (51%) of all the injections are carried out by 15.6% of the GPs. Factors associated with higher levels of injection activity were: male gender, partnership, more than 10 years’ experience, a special interest in rheumatology or orthopaedics and working in a rural or mixed practice. The most important barriers to carrying out injections were lack of practical training, lack of confidence and inability to maintain skills. Most GPs have been trained on models.

Conclusions. Most GPs carry out some joint and soft tissue injections, but limit themselves to knees, shoulders and elbows. A small highly active group receive referrals from colleagues. Gender and specialist training strongly influence activity. Many, especially female and part-time, GPs find it hard to maintain their skills and confidence. Training targeted at this group, based in practices and using models and other tools, is likely to increase the number of patients receiving timely injections in general practice.

KEY WORDS: Joint injection, Primary care, General practice, Rheumatology, Musculoskeletal medicine


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.