18 December 2024
With the development of our updated polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) guideline well underway, we took some time to speak to members of the guideline working group (GWG) to find out more.
Our previous PMR guideline was published in 2009 and required revision following the high standards set by our Guidelines Protocol to incorporate the latest evidence and provide health practitioners and people living with PMR a key resource to support the best possible care.
Task Toyoda, Clinical Fellow at Leeds working on the guideline, explained:
“We are currently in the evidence review phase and soon to move onto our second search strategy for observational data…
Our aim is to create a more holistic approach to managing PMR which will incorporate non-pharmacological recommendations (should the evidence exist), signposting to managing steroid toxicity and side effects and hopefully answer questions around the use of DMARD therapy. Of course, this is in addition to other common conundrums within PMR such as steroid dosing/tapering and relapse management.”
The GWG is made up of 16 multi-professional team members and three experts by experience. Members include representatives across rheumatology, sports and exercise medicine and physiotherapy, as well as GPs, pharmacists, and a specialist nurse.
A multidisciplinary and patient focused approach to developing guidelines is invaluable. Sheila Lewis, one of the experts by experience in the GWG, said:
“Involving experts by experience enables the ‘lived’ experience of symptomology to be described alongside diagnostic descriptions, as the ‘lived’ experience may not be as clear cut as diagnostic descriptions…
Experts by experience can contribute information on the realities of living with PMR, its impact on daily activities, its challenges, and its potential impact on relationships and general wellbeing, providing qualitative evidence alongside quantitative evidence.”
The PMR guideline update will cover:
- Pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions
- Management of relapses
- Monitoring and stopping treatments
- Patient information and support
Sheila adds:
“The development of the guideline will allow both primary and secondary care clinicians to have access to clear, accurate, and evidence-based information about PMR as a condition… and encourage and enable clinicians to keep a holistic view of the person in terms of the disease and treatments and their impact on wellbeing.”
For more details on what the guideline will cover, read the full scope in the BSR open-access journal, Rheumatology Advances In Practice, here.
The updated guideline, which is expected to be published in Autumn 2025, will be developed using the methods and processes outlined in the British Society for Rheumatology’s 'Creating clinical guidelines; Our protocol'.
All BSR guidelines are published in Rheumatology under an ‘open access’ licence and available for free on the British Society for Rheumatology website.