Transition care: the link between pediatric rheumatology and adult rheumatology. Data from the experience of the young adult rheumatology ambulatory of Florence

Transition from childhood to adolescence is particularly difficult in patients with chronic rheumatic diseases. Moving from pediatric to adult assistance, is not an administrative procedure; it involves a change from of "child-centered" to an "adult-oriented" system, in a delicate phase of life in which emotional stability has not been achieved yet. A structure addressing medical, psycho-social and educational adolescents needs is therefore necessary, representing a link between adult and pediatric rheumatology, in order to maintain the benefits of treatment administered during in childhood.