Pregnant women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) were more prone to cardiovascular complications during delivery, and their risk seems to have increased over the past 15 years, according to national administrative data.

When it comes to hydroxychloroquine dosing, issues on efficacy, toxicity and therapeutic thresholds may affect the optimal use of this important drug.

Following are three abstracts presented during the meeting that address these topics.

ACR22 Convergence left us bountiful with information from all over the world. Here are a few of my personal highlights and key takeaways. 

Deucravacitinib, an oral, selective TYK2 inhibitor, has demonstrated efficacy in a phase II trial active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients.

Since reduced proteinuria at one year is the best predictor of improved long-term renal outcomes in lupus nephritis, is there rationale to set a tighter treatment target?

Hydroxychloroquine remains the backbone of treatment for SLE, and the only drug clinically proven to decrease mortality. Optimization of usage is therefore critical in maximizing benefit and preventing harms. Hydroxychloroquine blood level testing is available in clinical practice and can help guide this management. 

In the wake of the 2016 AAOS Guidelines, rheumatologists dutifully reduced the dose HCQ take by patients with SLE to some number south of 5mg/kg per day. Though I believe the ophthalmologists correctly interpreted a 2014 paper in JAMA Ophthalmology that quoted a much-higher rate of HCQ associated retinopathy than had previously been appreciated, they and subsequent guidelines published in the field of rheumatology lacked a critical piece of information: what actually happens when you do this?