Hip Replacement Augments Longevity

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Data from Swedish hip replacement registry finds that total hip arthroplasty not only improves quality of life, it is also associated with increased life expectancy that lasts for 10 years after surgery, especially in primary osteoarthritis patients.

Inflammatory Arthritis Variants with Checkpoint Inhibitors

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Capelli and colleagues have studied patients treated with ICIs and found two variants of inflammatory arthritis (IA) - a reactive arthritis like large joint arthritis with combination ICI therapy or a small joint IA with ICI monotherapy.

2017 Rheumatology Year in Review

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This retrospective review is drawn from the authors collection of the most impactful publications, research and news that occurred in 2017.  In no particular order, here are my top rheumatology advances, news and research reports for calendar year 2017.

Gout Crystal Deposition is Deeper than its Measures

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Dalbeth and colleagues have published that among gout patients without palpable tophic and despite long term allopurinol, nearly half have monosodium urate (MSU) as detected by Dual-energy CT (DECT).  The total body urate deposition is even greater in those with higher sUA and evidence

IL-18 Binding Protein Effective in Adult-Onset Still's Disease

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Gabay and colleagues have reported the results of a novel new recombinant human IL-18 binding protein, tadekinig alfa, demonstrating its effectiveness in an open-label dose escalating study in patients with adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD).

Probenecid Benefits Heart Failure

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In animal studies, probenecid was shown to have positive inotropic effects on the cardiomyocyte mediated by transient receptor potential vanilloid 2 activation.

The RheumNow Week in Review - 23 February 2018

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Dr Jack Cush reviews highlights from the past week on RheumNow.com. This week’s video is in two parts; for part Ii, go to https://buff.ly/2BM9MjL

Shorter Steroid Courses Effective in ANCA+ Vasculitis

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An 8-week course of prednisone plus rituximab (Rituxin) offered good outcomes in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV), including complete remission, researchers reported.

Oral Anticoagulation Effective Following Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery

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Many protocols call for anticoagulation after total hip or total knee arthroplasty to prevent venous thromboembolism (proximal deep-vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism), and some reports have suggested a role for aspiring or direct oral anticoagulants as preventative therapy. The NEJM has reported that oral anticoagulation with rivaroxaban (Xarelto) followed by aspirin to be effective prophylaxis.

Equal Cardiovascular Risks in Hypertensive Patients Treated with Selective and Nonselective NSAIDS

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A Taiwanese study of 55,629 hypertensive patients shows no increased risk of  major cardiovascular events comparing outcomes of patients started on COX-2 selective NSAIDs compared with nonselective NSAIDs (including ibuprofen, diclofenac and naproxen).

Are ANA Tests Unreliable?

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Pisetsky and colleagues have reported in the Annals of Rheumatic Disease that ANA tests done on established SLE patients may yield surprisingly disparate results.

While ANA negative lupus was a problem of old assays and the loss of ANA positivity may be seen with chronicity or age, most rheumatologists believe that ANA positivity is an absolute requirement for the diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus.

ASCO/NCCN Guidelines for Checkpoint Inhibitor Immune-Related Adverse Events

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New guidelines have been developed by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) on how to assess and manage of immune checkpoint inhibitor side effects that are often autoimmune in nature.

Pediatric Use of TNF inhbitors Does Not Increase Malignancy Risk

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A study of USA administrative claims data between 2000 to 2014 assessed the risk of cancer with exposure to tumour necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) in pediatric patients and found that TNFi therapy did not significantly increase the risk compared those not receiving TNFi.

HERO Trial - Hydroxychloroquine Fails in Hand Osteoarthritis

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UK researchers have treated 248 patients with moderate to severe hand pain and radiographic osteoarthritis (OA) and demonstrated no benefit after 12 months of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), according to a recent article in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Calcium and Vitamin D Do Not Increase Cardiac Events/Death

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An analysis of the UK Biobank study found no link between calcium/vitamin D supplementation and incident cardiovascular events/deaths in a large prospective study of 475,255 men and women aged 40 to 69 years.

Apremilast Continues to Look Good in Behcet's Disease

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The 2018 American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting features recent findings of a phase III trial of apremilast in active Behçet’s Disease, showing significant reductions in oral ulcers at week 12 for those treated with apremilast 30 mg twice daily.

The RheumNow Week in Review - 16 February 2018

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Dr. Jack Cush reviews highlights, news and recent research published this week on RheumNow.com. This week's report includes news on social media, new rituximab indications, steroid complications, DECT in Gout, T2T in gout, Dementia and rheumatology numbers.

NHANES Survey Shows OA Rising and RA Declining

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An analysis of 43,706 adults from the 1999-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) demonstrated temporal trends in the prevalence of arthritis, including a rise in osteoarthritis (OA) from 6.6% to 14.3%, while the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) decreased from 5.9%

Abatacept Improves GvHD Outcomes

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The results from a phase 2 clinical trial presented at the American Society of Hematology meeting demonstrated that the drug abatacept was highly effective in managing severe acute graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) in patients receiving hematopoietic stem cell transplants.

T2T Improves Primary Care Gout Management

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Researchers from Geisinger Medical center tested a pilot primary care gout management improvement intervention, and demonstrated significantly improved primary care gout management metrics when a treat to target approach was implemented.