Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from this past week on RheumNow.com along with interesting case questions from "Ask Cush Anything".
All News
Article
Article
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from this past week - some obvious, other new thoughts and some - hmmm, reallly?
Article
A current review article suggests that the need for Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) prophylaxis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and lupus nephritis will need to be individualized based on therapies and risk factors.
Article
The American Gastroenterology Association has published its revised clinical practice guidelines for the prevention and treatment of hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation in at-risk patients, particularly those with immune-mediated disease, receiving immunomodulatory therapy and steroids.
Article
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from last week on RheumNow.com
RA Lung Disease Portends Poor Outcomes
A retrospective Harvard affiliates study shows that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with lung disease have higher mortality, especially respiratory and infection-related mortality than those without lung disease (LD). https://t.co/13h2u26ecb
Diminishing trend in serious infections assoc w/ TNFi use in inflammatory arthritis over the years. ICEBIO study 1387 Rx w/ 1st TNFi 2003–2018 (vs 6936 comparators. Over tme the SI rate dropped 52% (IRR 0.48; 0.25–0.94), but not for controls (Abx use stable) https://t.co/jDsKlCrd0p
Osteoarthritis (OA) degenerative or inflammatory? 296 pts w/ Knee OA (age 63 yrs, 2/3 had poor oral hygien, K&L grade 2, pain >40). Periodontitis in 62.5% & signif assoc w/ Xray K&L grade 4 (OR 5.39), poor oral hygiene (OR 34), dental visits (OR 8.54), brushing time (OR 21.9) https://t.co/xXIr2qxtt4
MTX lowers risk of serious infxn (SI) - UK Observational study of 17 472 newly Dx RA (2018–2023); 10K on MTX, 4,540 other csDMARDs; 13680 corticosteroids (GC). 1307 SI (3/100 PY) w/ reduced adj HR 0.72 (95% CI: 0.63–0.82). 311 SI-related mortality (IR 0.69;0.61–0.77) https://t.co/iuxAivtrYZ
Short full read review of the history, safety and use of Corticosteroids in Respiratory Medicine (including use in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), ARDS, septic shock, ILD, COPD/asthma, COVID-19, Cancer, Sarcoid & IPF. https://t.co/aKMAT8IhLm https://t.co/RopoNnYJ6Z
Sulfasalazine as a preventative against Pneumocystis (PJP). 594 RA pts & 848 Rx episodes - 181 on SSZ, 667 controls. W/ 850 Pt-Yrs F/U, 21developed PCP, 3 died of PCP. SSZ significantly lowered PJP risk (p = 0.003, rate ratio = 0.05; 95% CI 0.00–0.34). https://t.co/PAgBaJGldR https://t.co/PuTxGXTeRS
MTX lowers risk of serious infxn (SI) - UK Observational study of 17 472 newly Dx RA (2018–2023); 10K on MTX, 4,540 other csDMARDs; 13680 corticosteroids (GC). 1307 SI (3/100 PY) w/ reduced adj HR 0.72 (95% CI: 0.63–0.82). 311 SI-related mortality (IR 0.69;0.61–0.77) https://t.co/YhJV3vyAmB
Sulfasalazine as a preventative against Pneumocystis (PJP). 594 RA pts & 848 Rx episodes - 181 on SSZ, 667 controls. W/ 850 Pt-Yrs F/U, 21developed PCP, 3 died of PCP. SSZ significantly lowered PJP risk (p = 0.003, rate ratio = 0.05; 95% CI 0.00–0.34). https://t.co/PAgBaJGldR https://t.co/VV3MvVEGal
Martinque, Afro-Caribbean population (n 354 800) study(2004-2022) of 33 AOSD pts (71%F; 79% systemic; 21% chr articular); 91% met Yamaguchi criteria; features as expected but more Pulmonary Dz(51%; 94% w/ a systemic pattern). Half Dx < age 35 yrs. Prevalence 7.6 /100 000 mean https://t.co/QWyfNuvhkl
Study of 176 anti-MDA5-DM patients and 55 controls found anti-IFN-α Abs in 18% of MDA5-DM pts, higherin those >60 yrs. IFN-α Ab-positivity assoc w/ RP-ILD (68% vs. 41%) & pulmonary infxn (74% vs. 46%, esp fungi), Mortality (p = 0.006). https://t.co/6w6S3nozPI https://t.co/FoXEIuLBEk
Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH)is a structural cause of dysphagia due to anterior cervical osteophytes. Retrospective study 208 dysphagia pts w/ head/neck CT. DISH was Dx in 39%; predicted by low serum albumin, COPD, & chronic pain https://t.co/zrn4dnCtLc https://t.co/svE6khmUEm
#RA linked to 40% incr risk of serious dental Infx. National Inpatient Sample (2016-2022) retrospective study of ~15 million adult inpatient records, 10.7K (0.07%) had oral Infx Hosp. Risk factors included RA (1.9%; OR 1.4, male (1.79), Black (1.23), smoking (1.33) https://t.co/pr4Uf6ywJ7
Case series of 22 PsA pts treats w/ combination bioDMARDs & JAKi,TYK2i or APR
IL17i + JAKi 10.5 PY = 1 mild infectious stomatitis
IL23i + JAKi 3.7 PY = no AE
IL-17i + TYK2i 8.5 PY = 2 mild upper respiratory infections
IL-23i + TYK2i 8.3 PY = 2 mild URIs, 1 folliculitis
TNFi + https://t.co/hxhTxmJpbN
Remission in Axial Spondyloarthritis Unrelated to Gut Inflammation
Most patients with early, active axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) who quickly received a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor experienced remission, and it didn't matter whether or not they had intestinal https://t.co/Sa10k6neRP
FDA adds new warning for "myocarditis" to the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines (prev mainly assoc w/ Moderna) - risk is 8 per 1 million people for those on 2023-2024 COVID shots, most common in males ages 12 to 24. Generally good outcomes seen. https://t.co/QZbTRaKGH1 https://t.co/1cAUw73eqF


