The RheumNow Week in Review - 22 December 2017

Save

Dr. Jack Cush reviews highlights and news from the past week on RheumNow.com. 

Allopurinol Dose Escalation is Safe with Severe CKD

Save

Hypertension, nephrolithiasis and chronic kidney disease (CKD) commonly associates with gout.  While there is a clear need to dose adjust NSAIDs and colchicine in those with CKD, there is some debate about the need to dose adjust when using allopurinol with CKD.

Risk of Gout Onset and Flare Linked to Urate Levels

Save

Serum uric acid (SUA) levels are clearly linked to gout. Researchers from Harvard have systemically reviewed the literature to quantify the risk of onset and flare with varying levels of SUA.

Cannibis Weakly Effective in Neuropathic Pain

Save

The medical use of cannabis is often extended to management of chronic pain and neuropathic pain.

A metanalysis of 27 chronic pain trials show that there is low-strength evidence that cannabis alleviates neuropathic pain but insufficient evidence in other pain populations.

Cardiac Disturbances Increased in Spondyloarthritis

Save

A prospective Swedish study between 2001–2009 found a higher risk of aortic regurgitation, pacemaker, AV block and atrial fibrillation in SpA, AS, uSpA and PsA patients.

Registry Efficacy of Rituximab in Refractory SLE

Save

Despite large randomized trials failing to show the efficacy of RTX in SLE (LUNAR, EXPLORER), uncontrolled observational data suggests possible efficacy and safety of RTX in refractory SLE.

Worldwide Trends in BMI in Children, Adolescents and Adults

Save

Lancet reports on the analysis of 2416 studies, involving 128.9 million persons over 5 years of age shows previously rising trends in children's and adolescents' BMI have plateaued in many high-income countries, but still at high levels. 

Frequency of Rheumatoid Knee Replacements Down in the Biologic Era

Save

A time-series analysis of incident rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients seen between 1996 and 2011 in the Danish National Patient Register shows that the incidence of hip (THR) and knee replacements (TKR) began to decrease after the introdution of biologic agents for RA in 2002.

Baseline Risk Score Predicts Serious Infection Risk in TNF-Treated RA Patients

Save

Curtis and colleagues have analyzed the certolizumab (CZP) RAPID1 and RAPID2 trials to assess the risk of serious infectious events (SIEs), and shown that steroids combined with an age-adjusted comorbidity index (AACI) yields a 2-3 fold predictable risk for SIE.

Advantages of Intravenous Pulse Cyclophosphamide in ANCA-associated Vasculitis

Save

Researchers from the Nottingham University Hospitals have analyzed the efficacy and safety of  oral (PO) and intravenous (IV)  cyclophosphamide (CTX) in ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) patients and demonstrated a trend for fewer relapses, better 1 year survival and less toxicity w

The RheumNow Week in Review - 15 December 2017

Save

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news from the past week on RheumNow.com. Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and SoundCloud.com. 

FDA Approves Xeljanz for Use in Psoriatic Arthritis

Save

Pfizer Inc.

Cochrane Review: Calcium Channel Blocker Efficacy in Raynaud's

Save

The Cochrane Database has published its review of calcium channel blockers (CCB) in Raynaud's phenomenon, showing CCBs may be useful in reducing the frequency, duration, severity of attacks, pain and disability associated with Raynaud's phenomenon, especially with primary Raynaud's.

Fatigue, HAQ and Hand Disability Correlated in Early Systemic Sclerosis

Save

Early diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (SSc) was associated with high levels of disability and fatigue, according to analysis of data from the European Scleroderma Observational Study cohort.

Febuxostat Works in Early Gout But Fails to Protect from Xray Damage

Save

Dalbeth and colleagues have published a novel report in Arthritis & Rheumatology, novel in that it is a trial of early gout patients that looks at clinical and radiographic outcomes. They showed that febuxostat improves magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures of synovitis and reduced gout flares, but failed to alter X-ray progression with 2 years follow-up. 

FDA Approves Mepolizumab for Churg-Strauss (EGPA)

Save

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved use of Nucala (mepolizumab) for use in treating adults with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), previously known as Churg-Strauss vasculitis. This is first FDA-approved therapy specifically to treat EGPA. 

Kidney Dysfunction Frequent in RA

Save

Renal dysfunction is common among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), particularly among older patients, women, and those with hypertension, Japanese researchers reported.

Offspring of RA Women Have Higher Risk of RA and Other Diseases

Save

Despite a growing body of evidence suggesting that maternal health is more important than maternal medications to fetal and infant outcomes, little is known about the long term oucomes of infants born to mothers with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Using Danish population data, researchers have shown in utero exposure to maternal RA is associated with an increased risk of thyroid disease, and an increased risk of future RA.

AASM Guidelines for Sleep Apnea Testing

Save

A task force from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) performed a systematic review of the scientific literature on obstructive sleep apnea and screening tests.

2017 Update of Treat to Target Recommendations for SpA/PsA

Save

A 2017 international committee of experts met to assess and revise its earlier 2012 recommendations regarding treating to target in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and axial peripheral spondyloarthritis (SpA).