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Dr Denise De Lord FRCP

Consultant Rheumatologist & Physician

Dr De Lord qualified from University College Hospital, London in 1990. She commenced postgraduate Rheumatology training at King’s College Hospital in 1994 and was awarded an Arthritis Rheumatism Council Fellowship in 1996 for a 3-year programme of research with Professor Costantino Pitzalis & Professor Gabriel Panayi, at Guy’s hospital London, investigating the role of adhesion molecules and selective lymphocyte homing between the gut and the joint in inflammatory arthritis. She completed her postgraduate training in Rheumatology and General Internal Medicine in South London and Kent.
She has been a consultant at East Kent Hospitals University & Foundation Trust (EKHUFT) since 2002 and continues to maintain her role as a general physician as well as rheumatologist. She was Lead Clinician for the Department of Rheumatology from 2009 – 2019. Although she has extensive experience in general rheumatology, her areas of special interest are lupus & vasculitis, systemic sclerosis and early inflammatory arthritis.
She continues as Lead for Specialised Rheumatology for EKHUFT. Working closely with NHS South England, she has set up the South East Complex Autoimmune Rheumatic Disease network (SECARD), ensuring that patients in Kent & Medway with lupus, vasculitis and complex autoimmune diseases, can access NHS England commissioned medication and urgent treatment.
Her achievements include:
  • The award of specialised accreditation for the department of Rheumatology, EKHUFT for tertiary level care of patients with lupus and vasculitis.
  • Delivery of a tertiary service for refractory and resistant Giant cell arteritis.
  • Development of and chairing of SECARD.
  • Co-ordination of the trust-wide development of an early arthritis service and the use of musculoskeletal ultrasound for the early detection of active inflammation in arthritis.
Dr De Lord is qualified to perform diagnostic ultrasonography of the hands, wrists and feet for the detection of inflammatory arthritis (CASE-accredited). She is currently involved in MSK ultrasound training and accreditation for Specialist Registrars and allied healthcare professionals. She is a course leader for the Focussed CASE-accredited MSK ultrasound course for hands, and feet for inflammatory arthritis and honorary lecturer at Canterbury Christchurch University.

Special Interests:

  • Lupus (SLE)
  • Vasculitis
  • Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA)
  • Aggressive early treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis and inflammatory arthritis
  • Musculoskeletal ultrasound in the diagnosis of early inflammatory arthritis
  • Systemic Sclerosis
Her NHS Practice is based at the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital, Margate (QEQMH).
Her private practice is based at the BMI Chaucer, Canterbury and the Spencer Private Hospitals, Margate.

Selected Publications

Wahid S, Blades MC, De Lord D, Brown I, Blake G, Yanni G, Haskard DO, Panayi GS, Pitzalis C. Tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) enhances lymphocyte migration into rheumatoid synovial tissue transplanted into severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice. Clin Exp Immunol. 2000 Oct;122(1):133-42.
Howie D, Spencer J, DeLord D, Pitzalis C, Wathen NC, Dogan A, Akbar A, MacDonald TT. Extrathymic T cell differentiation in the human intestine early in life. J Immunol. 1998 Dec 1;161(11):5862-72.
De Lord DA, Thomas AM, Salisbury J, Pitt PI. A case of chronic Escherichia coli osteomyelitis of the clavicle. Br J Rheumatol. 1996 Feb;35(2):192-4.
De Lord, Dr DA. NHS Alliance 2011 EARLY ARTHRITIS: Joint Working?

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