Announcer:

Welcome to CME on ReachMD. This episode is part of our MinuteCE curriculum. Prior to beginning the activity, please be sure to review the faculty and commercial support disclosure statements as well as the learning objectives.”  

Dr. Cohn:  

This is CME on ReachMD, and I'm Dr. Danny Cohn. Here with me today are Drs. Anna Valerieva and Thomas Buttgereit. Today, we'll discusshow to build a multidisciplinary team for the management of hereditary angioedema.  

Anna, let me start with you. Can you explain to me why it is important to have a multidisciplinary team in the care for patients with HAE? 

Dr. Valerieva:  

Thank you, Danny. Thank you for having me in the case of HAE, I think it is,most of all, important to havethe multi-disciplinary teambecause we really do needphysicians with different specialty background to be also well aware about the specifics of HAE.  

So the awareness about the conditionis not thatwidely spread, so that's why we really do needexperts in various specialties to know also about the specificsof this rare disease, that also havesome specific symptoms, like abdominal attacks orthe risk ofhaving airwayangioedema upon exposure to triggering factor, which might be something that the patients will need to undergo when they'reat the clinic.  

So if we have any intervention that would be also affecting the airways, we really do needan HAE specialist, but alsoa specialist in the other specialty who is well aware about HAE and also his specialty.  

 In my clinic, I work in an Allergology Clinic, sowe collaboratefrom our perspective with physicians from other specialties, andwe see thatthe work with anesthesiologists isreally important in the case of our patients who will need to undergo specific surgical treatments.We also are very well collaborating withobstetrics and gynecologists. This is, I think, very important for the female patients who tend to need specific consultation with regards to their contraceptive methods, but also if they're looking for a pregnancy and need to gosome specific stimulationrelated to reproductive procedures.  

Also, the abdominal attacksvery often, might causedifficulty withobstetric gynecologydifferential diagnosis.But not less important, is the collaboration withdentists.Dental procedures are reallychallenging for HAE patients. I think you would agree also,from your perspective, thatthese patients need a cardiologist, also, to be well aware not to useworseningmedication.  

Dr. Cohn:  

Thomas,I'd like to ask you the following question. How do you build your multidisciplinary team? Where do you start? Do you have any advice for other physicians?  

Dr. Buttgereit:  

So, Danny, I think to answer this question, it always starts with motivation. If you're an HAE expert, if you're interested in this rare disease, you really like to collaborate, you reallylike to push projects forward, and you also want to learn about differential diagnosesthat could be considered in these patients when they have their symptoms.  

So what I usually do is, that Ifrequently attend ______ [10:30] of the other disciplines, the ENT's, the gynecologists, and also like, maybe, psychiatriststo teach them about the disease, about the symptoms, and also to learn from them what they know about other symptoms that can mimic HAE attacks, so that we can really work together on, maybe, a single patientand learn from each other, this is HAE-related or this is due to another cause. Maybe,let’s say, irritable bowel disease, when I talk to, for example, the gastroenterologist. So it has a lot to do with learning, motivation, and running projects together, and also in an academic setting, to publish together. Yeah? To answer questions that remain to be answered in the future. To provide better care for our patients in the future.  

Dr. Cohn:  

Yes, I think in the end, it's all about making allies.You find the right persons that also have a common interest, and if you can share your interest with theirs, then that's always a very fruitful combination and collaboration.  

Well, that has been an excellent discussion. I would like to thank you very much,and also, I'd thank the audience for joining us today. We hope this information will be helpful in your practice.  

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