Surviving Infection on DMARDs or Biologics

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Sepsis is a dangerous and potentially fatal consequence of serious infections (SIE), particularly in susceptible populations such as the elderly and immunosuppressed. Published evidence points toward the potential role of TNF in development of sepsis.

ACP Releases Paper on Impact of 'Concierge' on Patient Care

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The American College of Physicians released a position paper exploring factors driving the growth of “concierge” and other “direct patient contracting practices” (DPCPs) and the “limited” evidence on their impact on patient care.

Concern Still Lingers for Silicone Breast Implants

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What do you tell your patients who are considering augmentation mammoplasty? Or who question the safety of prior implants?

Anifrolumab Improves Lupus Outcomes

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Furie and coworkers presented the results of a 52-week phase II trial of anifrolumab (ANIFR), a type I interfernon (IFN) receptor antagonist in patients with lupus (SLE).

Mycophenolate in Scleroderma Lung Disease

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Clements et al presented the results of their Scleroderma Lung Study II wherein PSS patients with interstitial lung disease were randomized to receive either 3 grams daily of mycopheonolate or 2mg/kg/day of cyclophosphamide.

Improving Cardiovascular Trends in Rheumatoid Arthritis

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 Myasoedova and colleagues from the Mayo Clinic have reported their new data that demonstrates improving cardiovascular (CV) mortality rates in current RA patients treated with modern drugs.

Chondroitin Superior to Celecoxib in Knee OA Cartilage Loss

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A study of 194 knee OA patients received either 1200 mg chondroitin sulfate or celecoxib 200 mg daily, and clinical and MRI outcomes were assessed at 1 and 2 years.

Hip Fracture Risk Factors in the Elderly

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As risk of hip fracture increases with advanced age, our knowledge of risk factors for hip fracture among very old people remains limited.

Knee OA (not Hand) is Associated with Higher Mortality in Women

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"Doc....the pain is killing me."

This oft heard patient complaint may be truer than you think.

No Correlation Between Urate Crystal Identification and Cardiovascular Risk

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A Danish cohort study examined patients with hyperuricemia  and compared outcomes in those proven to have urate crystal deposition (317 patients) and matched 1:1 to patients without urate crystals.

ANCA Levels Predict Relapse in ANCA-Associated Vasculitis

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A team of Japanese investigators examine 126 patients with ANCA-associated renal vasculitis to see if ANCA levels would predict disease relapse.

Downward Trends in US Mortality Statistics

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Using death certificate data from US National Vital Statistics System of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, JAMA reports a downward trend in death rates in the USA from 1969 - 2013).

Increasing Placebo Responses in the USA

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A recent analysis of randomized clincal trials (RCT) for the treatment of neuropathic pain has shown in increase in placebo responses. (Citation source http://buff.ly/1LL8yAi)

Initiation of Urate-Lowering Therapy During Gout Attacks

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A retrospective analysis examined whether it's better to initiate urate-lowering therapy (ULT) during or after an attack of acute gout.

Bronchiectasis Contributes to Activity and Seropositivity in Rheumatoid Arthritis

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UK investigators have shown that rheumatoid arthritis patients with bronchiectasis (BRRA) have a five-fold increased mortality compared to RA without bronchiectasis. It is unclear if serologic differences, activity measures and biomarkers may be different in this cohort.

Respiratory and Cardiovascular Mortality Higher in RA Women

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Using data from the Nurses' Health Study (NHS), Sparks and colleagues analyzed 119,209 women beginning in 1976. The identified 964 incident RA cases and 28,808 deaths during 36 years of prospective follow-up.

Physical Therapy Has Modest Effects on Acute Low Back Pain

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A new JAMA study shows new onset back pain treated with physical therapy yields modest short-term (3 months) improvement. 

Infertility in Rheumatoid Arthritis Linked to Disease Activity

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Women with rheumatoid arthritis are said to have a normal number of pregnancies. However, most of these are conceived prior to the onset of RA. Once diagnosed, the RA patient who wishes to become pregnant may be faced with difficult medication choices if she is planning to become pregnant.

Optimizing Treat-to-Target in RA

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Treat-to-target is a common management strategy for rheumatoid arthritis that aims to employ the strategy most effective in terms of achievement of optimal therapeutic outcomes in RA.

Healthcare Consumer Engagement Increasing

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Deloitte published its 2015 Healthcare Consumer Survey to examine online resource and technology use by patients. This is important, as the health care industry has expanded the development of online information resources, mobile applications, and personal health devices.