Overview
Rheumatology is the branch of medicine dealing with immune and non-immune mediated disorders of musculoskeletal system which includes autoimmune disorders including inflammatory arthritis, connective tissue disorders, vasculitis, soft tissue rheumatism and degenerative joint disorders like osteoarthritis.Department of clinical immunology and rheumatology Amala was started in 2013. It has now grown into a full-fledged department offering evidence based management for all rheumatic diseases. We aim at early detection of arthritis. We specialize in the diagnosis and management of diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, gout, osteoarthritis, spondyloarthritis like ankylosing spondylitis. We also take care of complex rheumatic diseases like systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), scleroderma, Sjögrens syndrome and all kinds of vasculitis. We also provide assistance to other specialities for the management of organ specific autoimmune diseases like uveitis, scleritis, retinitis, interstitial lung disease and pulmonary hypertension. In concert with the physiatry and physiotherapy department, we manage soft tissue rheumatism. We also deal with paediatric rheumatic diseases like juvenile idiopathic arthritis and vasculitis like HenochSchonleinpurpura. Department conducts Annual CME at Amala Institute of Medical Sciences usually in the month of September. CME was conducted in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2019.
Facilities
- Outpatient clinics on all days except Sundays
- In patient consultations on all days except Sundays
- All kinds of joint aspiration and intra articular injection
- Fully equipped autoimmune lab
- Ultrasound guided biopsies and intra articular procedures
- All kinds of biological injections for rheumatic diseases
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Lab facilities
- CRP, RF- turbidimetry
- ACCP by ELISA
- ANA by immunofluorescence
- ANA profile (ENA)
- Anti dsDNA by ELISA
- C3 C4 by ELISA
- HLA B27 by flow cytometry
- Myositis profile
- MPO / PR3 by ELISA
- Serum ACE
- HLA B51
- Skin biopsy in conjunction with dermatology department
- Renal biopsy in conjunction with nephrology specialty clinics
- early arthritis clinic
- Pediatric rheumatology clinic
- Allergy clinic
- Connective tissue disease clinic
Services
On all days, except Sundays
Consultations on all weekdays
The department collaborates with allied specialties of Radiology. In addition to all the modern equipment available, a 128-Slice CT and state-of-the-art MRI facility are also provided.
Insurance covered under ESI, ECHS, MEDISEP [Kerala govt], and most of the private insurance providers.
Faculties
Publications
- Iype T, Ajitha BK, Antony P, Ajeeth NB, Job S, Shaji KS Usefulness of the Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment scale in South India. J NeurolNeurosurg Psychiatry. 2006 Apr; 77(4):513-4.
- Rajasekharan C, Mathew AJ, Antony PT, Koshy AG.A rare cause of recurrent dyspnea.Saudi Med J. 2008 Jul; 29(7):1066-7.
- Mithun CB, Paul T Antony, Christina M Mariaselvam, Vir Singh Negi Clinical and immunogenetic characteristics of psoriatic arthritis: a single-center experience from South India IJRCI. 2013;1(1):OA1 (26 February 2013)
- Devaraju P, Mehra S, Gulati R, et al. The IRF5 rs2004640 (G/T) polymorphism is not a genetic risk factor for systemic lupus erythematosus in population from south India. Indian J Med Res. 2018;147(6):560-566. doi:10.4103/ijmr.IJMR_2025_16
- Negi VS, Devaraju P, Misra DP, et al. Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) codon 54 (rs1800450) polymorphism predisposes towards medium vessel vasculitis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. ClinRheumatol. 2017;36(4):837-843. doi:10.1007/s10067-017-3539-3
- Muralidharan N, Antony PT, Jain VK, Mariaselvam CM, Negi VS. Multidrug resistance 1 (MDR1) 3435C>T gene polymorphism influences the clinical phenotype and methotrexate-induced adverse events in South Indian Tamil rheumatoid arthritis. Eur J ClinPharmacol. 2015;71(8):959-965. doi:10.1007/s00228-015-1885-0
- Panneer D, Antony PT, Negi VS. Q222R polymorphism in DNAse I gene is a risk factor for nephritis in South Indian SLE patients. Lupus. 2013;22(10):996-1000. doi:10.1177/0961203313498801
- Devaraju P, Gulati R, Antony PT, Mithun CB, Negi VS. Susceptibility to SLE in South Indian Tamils may be influenced by genetic selection pressure on TLR2 and TLR9 genes. MolImmunol. 2015;64(1):123-126. doi:10.1016/j.molimm.2014.11.005
- Singh BK, Antony PT, Verma SK, Basu D, Negi VS. Anaplastic large cell lymphoma in a patient with systemic onset juvenile arthritis: case report and review of literature. Int J Rheum Dis. 2014;17(5):573-577. doi:10.1111/1756-185X.12361