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Rheumatology

History

Established in the Year: 1971

1971 - DME Approval for Rheumatic care Unit
1972 - Outpatient department started functioning
1973 - Physiotherapy wing established
1974 - Prof.A.L.Annamalai took over as HOD
1976 - Prof.K.V.Thiruvenkadamtook over as HOD
1978 - Prof.A.N.Chandrasekaran appointed as reader
1991 - For the First time in India D.M.Rheumatology Post Doctoral Degree course started with the sanction of 2 post graduate seats
1993 - Journal of Indian Rheumatology association (JIRA) was started first in India with Prof. A.N.Chandrasekaran as the editor in chief.
2010 - Number of D.M seats increased to 4
2015 - Upgraded to an Institute
2021 - Separate rheumatology block started functioning
2022 - Celebrated the Golden Jubilee

Faculty & Residents

Dr.P.S.Arul Rajamurugan

Associate Professor /HOD

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DR.P.ANBAZHAGAN

Assistant Professor

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DR.S.MADHAN

Assistant Professor

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DR.P. JAYAKUMAR

Senior Resident

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Dr HARISH

Senior Resident

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Dr.P.S.Arul Rajamurugan

Associate Professor /HOD

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Dr. S. Ramesh

Associate Professor

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Dr. R. Ramesh

Assistant Professor

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Dr. M.Sabarinath

Senior Residents

S.No	Name of the Residents joined in the year 2022	Name of the Residents joined in the year 2023	Name of the Residents joined in the year 2024
1	Dr. Durga Lakshmi. J	Dr. Ashwant kumar	Dr. S. Keerthana
2	Dr. Arockiaraj. B	Dr. P. Aravind	Dr. Vijaya Sarathy
3	Dr. Rahul Vijayan	Dr. Dhiliprajan	Dr. Emmanuel Boby
4	Dr. Rohit V	Dr. Jijo Jacob	Dr. R. Ajay

Facility & Clinical Care

1. Outpatient service

OPD services are the most important part of rheumatology. OPD is in 1 floor of rheumatology block. We deal with around 500 cases per day. We receive patients from all over Tamilnadu as well as from outside state. We have separate OP for new patients and patients who are on long term follow up. Our OP timing is from 8.00 am to 10.00 AM from Monday to Friday and 8.00 am to 1.00 pm on Saturdays. We conduct lupus clinic on Saturdays from 10.00 am to 1.00 pm. Our OPD includes new patient's OPD, counter OPD, Pharmacy, physiotherapy, patient registration, patient's waiting area and X-ray unit.

2. In patient service

Our inpatient ward is equipped with 60 beds. This includes Male ward, Female ward, day care ward and ICU Ward. We have monthly admissions of around 130 patients in female ward, 90 patients in male ward and 30 patients in ICU. Ward rounds are taken by postgraduates, assistant professors and Head of Department on daily basis for patient care. ICU is equipped with 10 beds, 4 ventilators, central oxygen supply, 3 Multi para monitors, 4 pulse oximeters and one ECG machine. Ward is equipped with procedure room for procedures like synovial fluid aspiration, intra articular injections, skin biopsy etc. We have Day care ward for the patients who are admitted for procedures as well as for biological DMARDS injections.

3. Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy unit is in the 6th floor of rheumatology block. Two physiotherapists are currently employed, providing their services to aid patients in rehabilitation and physical improvement. Services include electrotherapy (Interferential Therapy, TENS, Ultrasound Therapy, Infra-red radiation, Electrical stimulation, Wax-bath Therapy), Exercise therapy and play therapy.

4. Immunology Laboratory

We perform a range of immunology testing including the conventional latex agglutination test for Rheumatoid Factor (RF), C Reactive protein (CRP) and Anti-Streptolysin O (ASO);ELISA testing for auto antibodies titre Anti Nuclear Antibody (ANA), double stranded DNA (dsDNA), Anti Cyclic Citrulinated Peptide(ACCP), Beta 2 Glyco Protein 1 (ß2 GP1), Anti Cardiolipin (ACL), Anti Neutrophil Cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA), Cryoglobulin, ANA Profile of antibodies by immunoblotting, Immunofluorescence using HEP2000 Substrate for ANA and C3 AND C4 by Nephelometry technique.Our gamut of investigations also includes Polarising microscopy, Lupus anticoagulant testing, HLA typing that is carried out using the lymphocytotoxicity (LCT) assay. All these investigations are expensive and require advanced level of technical expertise.PCR Lab is functioning in the 7th floor. Our lab strives to provide quality reporting of these speciality tests under one roof to the poor and needy rheumatological patients of RGGGH.

5. Musculoskeletal Ultrasound

Musculoskeletal Ultrasound is a growing field which plays a major role in diagnosing rheumatic diseases and doing interventions in managing patients.

6. Nail fold Capillaroscopy

Nail fold capillaroscopy is a valuable diagnostic tool in rheumatology, enabling non-invasive examination of micro vascular abnormalities in patients with autoimmune diseases. It provides insights into conditions like systemic sclerosis and helps in early detection and monitoring of vascular changes. This technique plays a crucial role in optimizing patient care and treatment strategies.

7. Intra articular injections

Our department also carries out intra articular steroids in inflammatory arthritis and intra articular hyaluronic acid in osteoarthritis.

8. Biologic Therapy

Our facility offers a comprehensive range of biologic injections, including infliximab, adalimumab, etanercept, secukinumab, rituximab, tocilizumab, and more, to effectively manage patients with rheumatological conditions. We have well-equipped day care wards dedicated to ensuring the safe and convenient administration of these treatments.

Academic Forum

S.No	Date	Seminar and Symposium with Title	Presentor & Moderators with their designation	State or National level or Institute level	University / TNMSC Credits / both if present
1	3.1.24	Inflammatory eye diseases for rheumatologist JC	Dr Durgalakshmi	Institute level	No
2	5.1.24	Sarcoidosis Part 1	Dr Merwin	Institute level	No
4	8.1.24	RA pathogenesis Part 2	Dr Anoop	Institute level	No
5	12.1.24	Paraneoplastic syndromes	Dr Anoop	Institute level	No
6	19.1.24	Sarcoidosis Part 2	Dr Merwin	Institute level	No
7	22.1.24	B cell action, dysfunction	Dr. Bala Priya	Institute level	No
8	23.1.24	Medical Research Workshop	-	Institute level	No
9	24.1.24	APS management JC	Dr Merwin	Institute level	No
10	29.1.24	Etiopathogenesis for AS	Dr Durga Lakshmi	Institute level	No
11	31.1.24	Year in Review RA	Dr Ishwarya	Institute level	No
12	2.2.24	Trials in Axial SpA -1	Dr Rengabashyam	Institute level	No
14	7.2.24	Therapeutic potential of EVS in rheumatic diseases JC	Dr Rahul	Institute level	No
15	9.2.24	Approach to Polyarthrities	Dr Aravind	Institute level	No
18	14.2.24	Treatment of JIA -JC	Dr Arockiaraj	Institute level	No
19	16.2.24	Trials in Axial SpA -2	Dr Anoop	Institute level	No
23	21.2.24	M – 6A methylation in RA Journal club	Dr Anoop	Institute level	No
27	23.2.24	Systemic auto inflammatory syndromes	Dr Merwin	Institute level	No
28	26.2.24	Relapsing Polychondritis	Dr. R Ramesh	Institute level	No
32	28.2.24	Autoantibody identifying 1⁰ SS in their lacking AtiRo/La	Dr Rohit	Institute level	No
33	1.3.24	Monoarthritis	Dr Dhiliprajan	Institute level	No
34	4.3.24	Pathogenesis of LVV 2	Dr Rahul	Institute level	No
35	6.3.24	Vaccination in SLE	Dr Rengabashyam	Institute level	No
36	8.3.24	Animal model in RA	Dr Anoop	Institute level	No
37	11.3.24	Effectors response	Dr Sudha	Institute level	No
38	13.3.24	Journal club	Dr Anoop	Institute level	No
39	15.3.24	Pathogenesis of AAV	Dr Rohit	Institute level	No
40	18.3.24	Anti rheumatic drugs in renal and liver diseases	Dr Ashwanth Kumar	Institute level	No
41	20.3.24	Subclinical GCA	Dr Durga Lakshmi	Institute level	No
42	25.3.24	Skin manifestation in Vasculitis	Dr Mythili	Institute level	No
43	1/4/24	CAR-T Cell Therapy	Dr Ishwarya	Institute level	No
44	2/4/24	Dr Danda Memorial CME	-	Institute level	No
45	3/4/24	JC	Dr Merwin S	Institute level	No
46	4/4/24	Case Presentation	Dr Anoop C	Institute level	No
47	5/4/24	Approach to Oligoarthritis	Dr Jijo	Institute level	No
48	8/4/24	Infectious Diseases & Vaccines	Dr Sudha	Institute level	No
49	10/4/24	JC	Dr Rahul Vijayan	Institute level	No
50	11/4/24	Case Presentation	Dr Rengabhashyam	Institute level	No
51	12/4/24	Pathogenesis of Systemic Sclerosis	Dr Durgalakshmi	Institute level	No
52	15/4/24	Trials in Large Vessel Vasculitis	Dr Merwin S	Institute level	No
53	17/4/24	JC	Dr Arathy	Institute level	No
54	18/4/24	Case Presentation	Dr Ishwarya	Institute level	No
55	22/4/24	Seminar- Oral Anticoagulants & Therapeutic Monitoring	Dr Ishwarya	Institute level	No
56	24/4/24	JC	Dr Arockiaraj	Institute level	No
57	25/4/24	Case Presentation	Dr Arathy	Institute level	No
58	26/4/24	Trials in Gout	Dr Anoop C	Institute level	No
59	29/4/24	Prebiologic Workup	Dr Ramesh R	Institute level	No
60	1/5/24	Journal Club		Institute level	No
61	2/5/24	Case Presentation	Dr Rengabhashyam	Institute level	No
62	3/5/24	Pathogenesis of Systemic Sclerosis	Dr Durgalakshmi	Institute level	No
63	6/5/24	ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS DAY		Institute level	No
64	8/5/24	Journal Club	Dr Merwin S	Institute level	No
65	9/5/24	Case Presentation	Dr Arathi	Institute level	No
66	10/5/24	LUPUS DAY		Institute level	No
67	13/5/24	Infections and Vaccines – Part 2 -	Dr Sudha R	Institute level	No
68	15/5/24	Journal Club	Dr Rohit V	Institute level	No
68	16/5/24	Case Presentation	Dr Ishwarya	Institute level	No
69	17/5/24	Biology of the Normal Joint	Dr Aravind P	Institute level	No
70	20/5/24	CAPS	Dr MYTHILI S	Institute level	No
71	22/5/24	Journal Club	Dr Anoop C	Institute level	No
72	23/5/24	Case Presentation	Dr Arathi	Institute level	No
73	24/5/24	Primary Immunodeficiency	Dr Merwin S / Dr Rohit V	Institute level	No
74	27/5/24	Oral Anticoagulants and Therapeutic Monitoring	Dr Ishwarya R	Institute level	No
75	29/5/24	Journal Club	Dr Rengabhashyam	Institute level	No
76	30/5/24	Case Presentation	Dr Merwin	Institute level	No
77	31/5/24	Synovium	Dr Ashwanthkumar	Institute level	No
78	3/6/24	Seminar- miRNAs in Rheumatology	Dr Rahul Vijayan	Institute level	No
79	5/6/24	JC	Dr Rengabhashyam	Institute level	No
80	6/6/24	Case Presentation	Dr Anoop C	Institute level	No
81	7/6/24	IEI-PART 2	Dr Merwin Samuel	Institute level	No
82	10/6/24	Seminar- Experimental Animal Models	Dr Anoop C	Institute level	No
83	12/6/24	JC	Dr Durgalakshmi L	Institute level	No
84	13/6/24	Case Presentation	Dr Arathi	Institute level	No
85	14/6/24	Cartilage and Chondrocytes	Dr Dhilip	Institute level	No
86	17/6/24	Holiday		Institute level	No
87	19/6/24	JC	Dr Ishwarya	Institute level	No
88	20/6/24	Case Presentation	Dr Arathi	Institute level	No
89	21/6/24	Infectious Diseases and Vaccines	Dr Sudha	Institute level	No
90	24/6/24	Cardiac Sarcoidosis	Dr Ramesh R	Institute level	No
91	26/6/24	JC	Dr Arockiaraj	Institute level	No
92	27/6/24	Case Presentation	Dr Rengabhashyam	Institute level	No
93	28/6/24	Biology, Physiology and Morphology of Bone	Dr Jijo Jacob	Institute level	No
94	1/7/24	Seminar- Animal Models in Rheumatology	Dr Anoop C	Institute level	No
95	3/7/24	Journal Club	Dr Merwin S	Institute level	No
96	4/7/24	Case Presentation	Dr Ishwarya S	Institute level	No
97	5/7/24	Muscle - Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry	Dr Aravind P	Institute level	No
98	8/7/24	Clinical Immunology- IEI Part 3	Dr Arockiaraj	Institute level	No
99	10/7/24	JC	Dr Rahul Vijayan	Institute level	No
100	11/7/24	Case Presentation	Dr Merwin	Institute level	No
101	15/07/24	Approach to Neck Pain	Dr Ashwanthkumar	Institute level	No
102	18/07/24	Case Presentation	Dr Anoop C	Institute level	No
103	19/07/24	Primary immune system	Dr Ishwarya	Institute level	No
104	22/07/24	Recent Advances- Proteomics in Rheumatology	Dr Merwin S	Institute level	No
105	24/07/24	JC	Dr Rohit V	Institute level	No
106	25/07/24	Case Presentation	Dr Rengabhashyam	Institute level	No
107	26/07/24	Innate immunity	Dr Balapriya	Institute level	No
108	29/07/24	Seminar- Scleroderma Renal Crisis	Dr Durgalakshmi	Institute level	No
109	31/07/24	JC	Dr Rengabhashyam	Institute level	No
110	01/08/24	Case Presentation ADEMI	Dr Ishwarya R	Institute level	No
112	05/08/24	Recent Advances - Proteomics In Rheumatology	Dr Merwin S	Institute level	No
113	07/08/24	RESEARCH COMMITTEE MEETING		Institute level	No
114	08/08/24	Case Presentation	Dr Merwin S	Institute level	No
115	09/08/24	Seminar- Approach to shoulder Pain	Dr Jijo	Institute level	No
116	12/08/24	Seminar- IEI	Dr Rahul Vijayan	Institute level	No
117	14/08/24	PRACTICAL EXAM DM	-	Institute level	No
118	16/08/24	Biomechanics	Dr Dhilip	Institute level	No
119	19/08/24	Faculty Seminar - INTERPRETATION OF PFT	Dr Sabarinath M	Institute level	No
120	21/08/24	Journal Club	Dr Arockiaraj B	Institute level	No
121	22/8/24	Case Presentation	Dr Rengabhasyam	Institute level	No
122	23/8/24	Faculty Seminar- INNATE LYMPHOID CELLS	Dr Balapriya	Institute level	No
123	28/8/24	Journal Club	Dr Rengabhashyam	Institute level	No
124	29/8/24	Case Presentation	Dr Anoop C	Institute level	No
125	2/9/24	Approach to Shoulder Pain	Dr Jijo	Institute level	No
126	4/9/24	Journal Club	Dr Rahul	Institute level	No
127	5/9/24	Case Presentation	Dr Anoop C	Institute level	No
128	6/9/24	Biomechanics	Dr Dileep	Institute level	No
129	9/9/24	Seminar-IEI	Dr Rahul Vijayan	Institute level	No
130	11/9/24	Journal Club	Dr Rengabhashyam	Institute level	No
131	12/9/24	Case Presentation	Dr Merwin	Institute level	No
132	13/9/24	Approach to Low Backache	Dr Ashwanth	Institute level	No
134	18/9/24	Journal Club	Dr Arockiaraj	Institute level	No
135	19/9/24	Case Presentation	Dr Ishwarya C	Institute level	No
136	20/9/24	Seminar-Big Data	Dr Anoop C	Institute level	No
137	23/9/24	Faculty Seminar- Dendritic Cell	Dr Sudha	Institute level	No
138	25/9/24	Journal Club	Dr Ishwarya	Institute level	No
139	30/9/24	Faculty Seminar- Comprehensive Management Of JIA -1	Dr M Sabarinath	Institute level	No
140	3-10-24	Case Presentation	Dr Anoop	Institute level	No
141	4-10-24	Seminar- PID/IEI	Dr Rahul Vijayan	Institute level	No
142	7-10-24	Seminar- Approach to hip and knee pain	Dr Aravind P	Institute level	No
143	9-10-24	Journal club	Dr Merwin Samuel	Institute level	No
144	10-10-24	Case Presentation	Dr Ishwarya R	Institute level	No
145	14-10-24	Seminar- Disease Activity and outcome Measures in RA	Dr Durgalakshmi J	Institute level	No
146	16-10-24	Journal club	Dr Rohit V	Institute level	No
147	17-10-24	Case Presentation	Dr Merwin S	Institute level	No
148	18-10-24	Seminar-Disease Activity and Outcome Measures in JIA	Dr Arockiaraj S	Institute level	No
149	21-10-24	Faculty Seminar- Dendritic cells & Phagocytes	Dr Sudha M	Institute level	No
150	23-10-24	Research Committee Meeting		Institute level	No
151	24-10-24	Case Presentation	Dr Rengabhashyam	Institute level	No
152	25-10-24	Seminar- Approach to foot and ankle pain	Dr DhilipRajan	Institute level	No
153	28-10-24	Faculty Seminar- Comprehensive Management of JIA -2	Dr Sabarinath Mahadevan	Institute level	No
154	30-10-24	Journal club	Dr Anoop C	Institute level	No
155	4-11-24	Outcome Measures in JIA	Dr Arockiaraj	Institute level	No
156	6-11-24	JC	Dr Rohit V	Institute level	No
157	7-11-24	Case Presentation	Dr Merwin Samuel	Institute level	No
158	8-11-24	Basics- Approach to hand and wrist pain	Dr Jijo	Institute level	No
159	11-11-24	Outcome Measures in SSc/ MCTD	Dr Rahul Vijayan	Institute level	No
160	13-11-24	JC	Dr Ishwarya R	Institute level	No
161	14-11-24	Case Presentation	Dr Anoop c	Institute level	No
162	15-11-24	Recent Updates	Dr Merwin Samuel	Institute level	No
163	18-11-24	Seminar- IVIG	Dr Durgalakshmi J	Institute level	No
164	20-11-24	JC	Dr Rahul Vijayan	Institute level	No
165	25-11-24	Immunology-	Dr Rohit. V	Institute level	No
166	27-11-24	JC/Research Committee Meeting	Dr Aravind P	Institute level	No
167	28-11-24	Case Presentation	Dr Rengabashyam	Institute level	No
168	29-11-24	Basics- Acute Phase Reactants	Dr Ashwant Kumar	Institute level	No
169	2-12-24	Management Guidelines Sjogrens Syndrome	Dr Durgalakshmi J	Institute level	No
170	4-12-24	IRACON Discussion	Dr Rahul Vijayan	Institute level	No
171	5-12-24	Case Discussion	Dr Rengabhashyam	Institute level	No
172	6-12-24	Occupational, Environmental and Recreational Musculoskeletal Diseases	Dr Aravind	Institute level	No
173	9-12-24	ANA	Dr Dhilip Rajan	Institute level	No
174	11-12-24	Journal Club	Dr Merwin	Institute level	No
175	12-12-24	Case Discussion	Dr Ishwarya	Institute level	No
176	13-12-24	Outcome Measures in Myositis	Dr Arockiaraj	Institute level	No
177	16-12-24	Autoantibodies in RA	Dr Jijo	Institute level	No
178	18-12-24	Journal Club	Dr Durgalakshmi	Institute level	No
179	19-12-24	Case Discussion	Dr Anoop	Institute level	No
180	20-12-24	Outcome measures in SLE	Dr Rohit V	Institute level	No
181	23-12-24	Principles of signalling	Dr Arockiaraj	Institute level	No
182	26-12-24	Case Discussion	Dr Merwin	Institute level	No
183	27-12-24	Skin and Rheumatic Diseases	Dr Ashwantkumar	Institute level	No
184	30-12-24	Management Guidelines- RA	Dr Rahul Vijayan	Institute level	No

CME / CONFERENCE

S.NO	Date	CME / CONFERENCE – Title	University / TNMSC Credits / both if present	State or National level or Institute level
1	02.04.24	Takayasu arteritis CME – Prof. Dr. Misra	No	Institute level
2	07.05.24	World Ankylosing Spondylitis Day CME – Dr. S. Sham	No	Institute level
3	10.05.24	World Lupus Day CME – Dr. Tanuj	No	Institute level
4	10.10.24	World Arthritis Day CME	No	Institute level

WORKSHOP / TRAINING PROGRAMME

S.NO	Date	WORKSHOP / TRAINING with Title	University / TNMSC Credits / both if present	State or National level or Institute level
1	23.1.24	Scientific writing workshop - Abott	No	Institute level
2	20.2.24	Scientific writing workshop - Abott	No	Institute level
3	19.3.24	Scientific writing workshop - Abott	No	Institute level
4	24.10.24	Genesis Workshop	No	Institute level

QUIZ / COMPETITIONS

S.NO	Date	Quiz /competitions with Title	University / TNMSC Credits / both if present	Prizes awarded to	a. Inter or Intra – Collegiate Level b. State or National level
1

Other Events

S.NO	DATE	OTHER EVENTS WITH TITLE	DETAILS
1	12/11/2022	Institute Golden Jubilee Function

Scientific Forum

Completed Projects

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Ongoing Projects

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Publications

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None

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Awards & Achievements

S.NO	Date/Month & Year	Name of the Awards & achievements received	Name of the awardee with designation	District level / State level / National level	Images
1	10/04/2022	1st place in quiz Dr. Mahabaleshwar	Clinical Rheumatology Conference 2022, Hyderabad	Institute	View
2	09/04/2022	1st place in quiz Dr. Mahabaleshwar	Clinical Rheumatology Conference 2022, Hyderabad	National	No Image
3	23/11/2022	1st place in NFC quiz Dr. Arathi	IRACON’22 INDORE Indian Rheumatology Associatio	National	No Image
4	09/07/2023	1st price in oral presentation Dr. Deepti Joy	TN RHEUMACON’23 conference, Chennai	State	No Image
5	08/07/2023	2nd price in oral presentation Dr. Arathi	TN RHEUMACON’23 conference, Chennai	State	No Image
6	01/09/2023	1st price in Poster presentation Dr. Deepti Joy	SZIRACON2023, Kerala	National	No Image
7	24/11/2023	3rd price in Poster presentation Dr. Anoop.C	IRACON’23, Hyderabad Indian Rheumatology Association	National	No Image
8	12/07/2025	1st price in oral presentation Dr Rohit V	TN RHEUMACON’25 conference, Vellore	State	No Image
9	12/07/2025	2nd price in oral presentation Dr Rahul Vijayan	TN RHEUMACON’25 conference, Vellore	State	No Image

Success Stories

Success story 1

Young girl with the diagnosis of SLE/Secondary APS with gangrene of the feet was treated with immunosuppressive therapy and surgery her limbs were salvaged

Success story 2

Young girl with Childhood SLE admitted with diffuse alveolar hemorrhage was saved with costly drug called IV IG and Plasma exchange along with immunosuppressive therapy

Success story 3

A young girl with bleeding from nose, mouth, urogenital tract, ears was diagnosed to have Ehler Danlos Syndrome and treated with medications

Success story 4

A bed ridden young boy with juvenile spondyloarthropathy with deformities was treated with biological therapy and physical rehabilitation started to walk independently

Others

Patient education on importance of Physiotherapy held on -11/11/2022
LUPUS PATIENT AWARNESS PROGRAM- 10/05/2023
ARTHRITIS AWARENESS PROGRAM FOR PATIENTS & PUBLIC- 30/10/2023

Guests Lectures

No Guest lecture information available for this department.

Rheumatology

History

Established in the Year: 1971

Faculty & Residents

Facility & Clinical Care

Academic Forum

CME / CONFERENCE

WORKSHOP / TRAINING PROGRAMME

QUIZ / COMPETITIONS

Other Events

Scientific Forum

Completed Projects

Ongoing Projects

Sponsored Projects

Publications

None

Awards & Achievements

Success Stories

Others

Guests Lectures