Rheumatology

An overview of the clinical manifestations of psoriatic arthritis and recommendations for properly assessing patient symptoms when measuring disease severity.

Strategies that can help clinicians assess patients with psoriatic arthritis for signs of disease progression.

The impact of psoriatic arthritis on patients’ quality of life and importance of an early, accurate diagnosis.

Long-term administration of rituximab may be associated with more severe COVID-19 outcomes, including intensive care unit (ICU) admission or death, especially for those with other comorbidities.

A treat-to-target strategy is recommended by the American College of Rheumatology for managing rheumatoid arthritis patients over a non-targeted approach. Test your knowledge of the rationale for treat-to target and how it should be implemented in our quiz.

Rheumatology Network sat down with Rebecca Manno, MD, MHS, to discuss the American College of Rheumatology State of the Art (ACR SOTA) Clinical Symposium, which ran from April 9-11.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Rheumatology Network's highlights from the week ending April 16, 2021.

As a part of our partnership with CreakyJoints, Rheumatology Network sat down with Lauren Gelman, Director of Editorial Services, for the Global Healthy Living Foundation. CreakyJoints is a support, education, advocacy, and research organization for people living with arthritis and rheumatic disease.

A new study finds atorvastatin does not have significant effect versus placebo on treating symptomatic knee osteoarthritis, including cartilage loss.

Patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) treated with guselkumab resulted in higher percentages of resolved enthesitis by Week 24 and maintained those results through 1 year when compared with a placebo.

This week, Rheumatology Network sat down Brad Marder, MD, co-author of the study, Pegloticase Therapy in Gout Patients Undergoing Dialysis: A USRDS Database Study. Data suggests that pegloticase is successful in the treatment of dialysis patients with uncontrolled gout with potentially lower ESA dose requirements after treatment.

While incidence rates remained stable throughout the study period, incidence rates in females increased 3% per year between 2000 and 2017. The increase was seen primarily in women 40-49 and 50-59.

In this systematic review and meta-analysis, investigators aimed to evaluate the clinical safety of total glucosides of paeony (TGP) adjuvant therapy in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Study participants who received combined video and booklet education were more effective in changing self-care behaviors. The education tools additionally provided greater advantages for Spanish-speaking and less-educated patients.

A new study finds educational video and booklets result in increased levels of patient knowledge in managing knee osteoarthritis, particularly among Spanish-speaking and less educated patients.

Many patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) also have diabetes mellitus, which can have an impact on their RA disease and its treatment. Test your knowledge of diabetes in RA with this quiz.

This week, Rheumatology Network sat down with Daniel J. Lovell, MD, MPH, to discuss his study, “Prevalence of autoimmune diseases and other associated conditions in children and young adults with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.”

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Rheumatology Network's highlights from the week ending April 2, 2021.

COVID-19 has created new challenges and opportunities in the way that rheumatologists care for chronically ill patients, including the introduction and prevalence of telemedicine and digital health applications (DHAs).

Mortality rates were similar in COVID-19 patients with and without chronic inflammatory diseases.

While some patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) find it beneficial to receive anti-inflammatory therapy to treat their fatigue, there is increasingly more evidence that chronic diseases increase risk of psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety and depression, which need to be treated differently.

Recently, a link between venous thromboembolism (VTE) and Janus Kinase (JAK) inhibitors has emerged, causing the FDA to recommend a black box label for tofacitinib in 2019. New research, however, suggests that tofacitinib had similarly infrequent cases of VTE (<1 per 100) when compared with tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFIs).

Investigators identified both facilitators and barriers for trial participation in patients at risk for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in order to enhance inclusion in trials designed to prevent RA.

The difficult-to-treat disease has a multitude of symptoms to address with a wide spectrum of agents.

A meta-analysis notes that relative risk for stroke was high for rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, and gout.

This week, Rheumatology Network interviewed Michael C. Schweitz, MD, to discuss the recent press release published by CreakyJoints that announced their partnership with the John Whelton Arthur Virshup CreakyJoints South Florida Arthritis Clinic.

Patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRD) may be more likely to acquire severe pneumonia due to COVID-19, especially in patients with autoimmune disease who are being treated with rituximab.

Currently, diagnosing a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex process that compares potential lupus with other conditions. It can be challenging and delayed by a period of time, which increases patient uncertainty, referrals, healthcare utilization, increased flares, and organ dysfunction. In this study, machine learning (ML) via artificial intelligence tools based on patient data was used to develop an algorithm to help with SLE diagnosis.

Most women experience a decrease in the severity of their rheumatoid arthritis (RA) symptoms during pregnancy, but some may need ongoing treatment. Test your knowledge of the treatment of RA during pregnancy.