Connective tissue diseases (also known as CTDs) are a very complex group of conditions that are mainly looked after by rheumatologists.
However, because they frequently cause severe problems with the skin such as dermatomyositis, discoid lupus, sarcoidosis and scleroderma, our patients are often also seen by a dermatologist.
Newcastle is one of only a few centres in the UK providing a specialised service for CTD patients with skin problems.
Joint clinics with multiple experts
We hold joint clinics for patients with a CTD. This means that they get the opportunity to be seen by a range of clinicians according to how the conditions affects them.
They may be seen by a dermatologist, a rheumatologist, a neurologist and / or a chest physician.
These clinic allow the multiple specialists to review the patient together, and then discuss management of their condition, how to streamline the patient’s visits, and also offer opportunities to take part in pioneering clinical research.
