IRCCS Institute Giannina Gaslini

The Rheumatology Unit of the G. Gaslini Institute is the regional referral centre for rare immunological and muscolo-skeletal diseases and therefore belongs to the National network for rare diseases.

The Unit of Rheumatology, EULAR Centre of Excellence in Rheumatology (2008-2018), is a national referral centre for all pediatric rheumatology in Italy. 

In the field of pediatric rheumatic diseases, the Unit has coordinated a number of registrative clinical trials, developed different outcome measures (ACR criteria for JIA, JADAS), evidence-based diagnostic criteria for macrophage activation syndrome, the recommendation for the use of imaging in rheumatic conditions.

Since 2002, the Gaslini Institute has established a national tertiary referral centre for the diagnosis and management of Autoinflammatory diseases. The Unit has promoted the development of evidence-based classification criteria for periodic fevers, evidence-based recommendation for the diagnosis and management of AID and specific outcome measures (AIDAI). The Unit also hosts the coordinating centre of the Paediatric Rheumatology INternational Trials Organisation (PRINTO), a non-governmental international network, with the goal to foster, facilitate and co-ordinate the development, conduct, analysis, and reporting of multi-centres, international clinical trials and/or outcome standardisation studies in children with paediatric rheumatic diseases (PRO).