Rheumatoid arthritis

Why is Prednisolone used ?

• Prednisolone is a corticosteroid drug

used because it can be used in low
doses to decrease the symptom of
inflammation
• The drug can be injected into joints
to relieve rheumatoid and other form
of arthritis.
 Side effects

• Peptic ulceration with perforation

• Osteoporosis,
• Muscloskeletal effect
• Mood change
• Muscle weakness
• Ingestion and abdominal distention
• Gatro-intestinal effects- dyspesia,
 Nursing Care
• Administrate the drug as prescribed,
give first dose of day as early as
possible, with small snack because it
can be very irritating to stomach lining
and lead to ulcer disease.
It helps to relieve pain and stiffness
while also reducing inflammation.
However, it will not slow down the
progression of rheumatoid arthritis.
• Encourage patient to assume
• Give analgesia as necessary, non-
narcotic analgesia appears to work
better.
Give it on time to avoid troughs
 Legal and Ethics
• According to Nmc Code of Professional
Conduct the nurse have duty of care.
• Communicate with your colleague that
if the patient says they are in pain they
are in pain.
• Ethically as nurses we are obliaged to
manage the pain as much as possible.
• Highlight the patient might be in pain
and its better to give them analgesia
now, and evaluate the results. It might
be the medical team to prescribe an
 Legal and Ethics
• In this situation, the first priority would
be the patient in pain. There many
ways around ensuring the patient
receives analgesia.
• At a last resort, if your colleague
doesn’t recognise and acknowledge the
non-maleficence: to report the pain to
another member of staff, and later
discuss with senior member of staff how
a patients pain should be managed and