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TNR: Early RA - Referrals and Treatment
This Tuesday Night Rheumatology was an hour long panel discussion featuring Drs. Jack Cush, Vivian Bykerk, Glen Hazelwood and Martin J. Bergman.
The Panel discussed Rheumatologists views on Early RA referral and intake, initial treatment preferences and views on diagnosing and treating pre-clinical RA.
RA Extra-articular Manifestations Declining
A Mayo Clinic population based cohort study shows the extraarticular manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis (ExRA) have declined with time; but the increased mortality risk of RA remains unchanged.
Read ArticleHydroxychloroquine Adherence Lowers Cardiovascular Risks
Daily hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is better than an apple a day; as a new study shows that adherence to the antimalarial agent significantly lowers future risk of cardiovascular events in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients.
Read ArticleRheumNow Podcast – with Special Guest Dr. Janet Pope (9.8.2023)
This week, Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news with special guest, Dr. Janet Pope. They discuss "Not-non-Inferior", large scale genetic screening, Zoster risk w/ newer lupus drugs, tapering, RA referral problems and the TNR webinar session on "ORAL Surveillance Revisited".
Read ArticleWoeful Rheumatology Referrals
Early diagnosis of inflammatory arthritis (IA) is rooted in patient (self or MD) referrals. A recent analysis shows only a minority of rheumatology referrals had inflammatory arthritis, with only 21% were seen within the first 6 weeks of symptoms.
Read ArticleOral Surveillance Changes in Advanced Therapy Use in RA
The safety of tofacitinib and TNF inhibitors was studied in high risk rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in the ORAL Surveillance study, which culminated in an FDA warning in January 2021 on the cardiovascular, cancer and VTE risks associated with JAK inhibitor use.
Read ArticleAortic Stenosis Risk in RA
A large cohort study has shown that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients are at an increased risk of developing aortic stenosis (AS), undergoing aortic valve intervention, or AS-related death.
Read ArticleICYMI: ACR Guidelines for Interstitial Lung Disease in Patients with Rheumatic Conditions
The American College of Rheumatology released summaries of two new guidelines for the Screening and Monitoring of Interstitial Lung Disease in People with Systemic Autoimmune Rheumatic Disease and for the Treatment of Interstitial Lung Disease in People with Systemic Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases.
Read ArticleHard Decisions in RA (9.1.2023)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from this past week on RheumNow, and introduces our September campaign - "Hard Decisions in RA".
Read ArticleACR Position Paper: Cost Impact of Rheumatologic Care
The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) has published evidence that rheumatologic care can save more than $2700 per patient per year.
Read ArticleFDA Approves Canakinumab for Gout Flares
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved canakinumab (Ilaris) for the treatment of gout flares in adults who cannot be treated with NSAIDs, colchicine, or repeated courses of corticosteroids. The drug is also indicated for people who could not tolerate or had an inadequate response to NSAIDs or colchicine.
Read ArticleSGLT2 Inhibitors as Gout Treatment
Patients with gout and type 2 diabetes treated with SGLT2 inhibitors not only had reduced numbers of gout flares, but also lived longer compared with other such patients receiving other medications, researchers said.
Read Article2023 ACR/EULAR Antiphospholipid Syndrome Classification Criteria
The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and EULAR have combined efforts to establish an international multidisciplinary Steering Committee to develop classification criteria for the new antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) to be applied in observational studies and clinical trials.
Read ArticleDr. Naomi Rothfield (1929 – 2023)
Medical schools are rife with mentors. In my rheumatology fellowship I had tow great mentors, Peter Lipsky and Morris Ziff. They introduced me, and other young rheumatologists, to other rheumatology giants and mentors, including Dr. Naomi Rothfield - who they often spoke of as a leader worth following. She was engaging and inclusive. And she stood out as one of the few strong rheumatology department chairs in the 1980s.
Naomi F. Rothfield, MD, famed leader from the University of Connecticut, passed away on Sunday, July 2, 2023, at the age of 94.
Gut Microbiome Differences Antedate JIA Development
Researchers have shown that gut microbiome differences may be associated with later development of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), and that such differences are present years before the disease is diagnosed.
Read ArticleHip Replacement Surgery After Age 90
Potentially modifiable comorbid conditions and complications have a major impact on the risks of total hip arthroplasty (THA) for people in their nineties, reports a study in The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
Read ArticleBefore You Know It (8.25.2023)
Dr. Jack Cush comments on the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com: VEXAS scoring, scleroderma sine scleroderma and head scratchers from southeast Asia.
Read ArticleBiologic Adherence and Drug Survival in RA Patients
A real-world rheumatoid arthritis (RA) cohort study from Israel shows significant variability of drug survival using biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatics drugs (bDMARDs) and targeted synthetic DMARDs (tsDMARDs).
Read ArticleACR Guidelines for Interstitial Lung Disease in Patients with Rheumatic Conditions
The American College of Rheumatology released summaries of two new guidelines for the Screening and Monitoring of Interstitial Lung Disease in People with Systemic Autoimmune Rheumatic Disease and for the Treatment of Interstitial Lung Disease in People with Systemic Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases.
Read ArticleWSJ: Do Younger or Older Doctors Get Better Results?
A recent Wall St. Journal essay (by AB Jena and C Worsham) suggests that a physician’s effectiveness has less to do with age than with how many patients they see and how well they stay up to date on research.
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