Rheumatology

On April 29, AbbVie announced the US FDA had granted approval to upadacitinib 15 mg (RINVOQ) for treatment of active ankylosing spondylitis among adult patients who had inadequate response or intolerance to at least 1 TNF inhibitor.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Rheumatology Network's highlights from the week ending April 30, 2022.

investigators initially theorized the drug may positively impact patients with COVID-19 treated with ruxolitinib.

In the interest of receiving a variety of opinions from rheumatologists, we asked several key opinion leaders about their thoughts on treating patients with glucocorticoids, regarding their reputation, benefits, risks, and if they are ultimately more helpful or harmful in the treatment of rheumatic diseases.

“In recent years, the habit of delaying pregnancy because of social and economic reasons has become more common, increasing the possibility of getting pregnant after the onset of the disease," investigators stated. "This fact makes pregnancy a more frequent issue to deal with in the present years.”

Approximately a quarter of RAPID3 assessments, confirmed with 92% accuracy by DAS28 scores, reported patients had low disease activity and could, therefore, postpone routine clinical visits.

Mental and physical illnesses, such as rheumatoid arthritis, are often driven by social, environmental, and economic factors and may affect disease outcomes.

ANCA-associated vasculitis may present like sinusitis, but it typically affects multiple organ systems.

“Understanding the extent of the co-occurrence and identifying factors associated with an increased susceptibility could be relevant to implement case-finding strategies in specific at-risk populations," investigators stated.

Jeffrey Stark, MD, discusses the latest bimekizumab and certolizumab pegol data presented at the 2022 American Academy of Dermatology annual meeting.

A notable percentage of patients with rheumatic diseases, such as psoriatic arthritis, stop taking bDMARDs due to lack of effectiveness and adverse events.

Dr. Warrington discusses the details of glucocorticoids and how avacopan can help with the effective treatment of ANCA-associated vasculitis.

Manuel Francisco Ugarte-Gil, MD, MSc, explains the impact that severe flares have on health-related quality of life for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Rheumatology Network's highlights from the week ending April 23, 2022.

Shanthini Kasturi, MD, MS, discusses the importance of patient-reported outcome measures to optimize the care of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Joyce C. Chang MD, MSCE, discusses the racial disparities in renal outcomes for hospitalized children with systemic lupus erythematosus.

As quality of life (QoL) in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is significantly lower when compared with patients with psoriasis, one of the main goals of treating PsA is improving QoL.

Infants born to mothers with autoimmune disease had a 16% higher risk of being diagnosed with a mental disorder compared with those who were not prenatally exposed to maternal autoimmune diseases.

Until now, there has been limited information on the long-term safety and efficacy of belimumab in Chinese patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Disease flares in systemic lupus erythematosus are associated with damage. However, the impact of flares on health-related quality of life have not been analyzed.

COVID-19 vaccines and drugs for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) don’t always mix well. How much do you know about how RA medications impact the immune response generated by COVID-19 vaccines?

Because vasculitis can manifest in various ways, Matthew Koster, MD, talks about identifying Granulomatosis with polyangiitis and other forms of the disease.

Tanaz Kermani, MD, MS, talks about the current state of vasculitis care and the latest research in the field.

White a treat-to-target strategy is an important part of managing patients with rheumatoid arthritis, a more controlled implementation with closer follow-up appointments and patient education yielded better outcomes.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Rheumatology Network's highlights from the week ending April 16, 2022.

Guidelines lack clear recommendations for osteoporosis management and fall prevention, which may be due to a lack of evidence in the literature.

Understanding the differences between sexes regarding PsA treatment may change the management of PsA in male and female patients and improve outcomes.

Investigators address the need for understanding surrounding the relationship between poor bone health and patients who are hemophilia carriers and those with von Willebrand disease.

“Although the achievement of treatment targets has been associated with improved quality of life and slower disease progression, patients may still experience symptoms and a burden of disease,” investigators stated.

Health-related quality of life and treatment satisfaction are often used to improve treatment outcomes as well as clinical care.