COVAX Registry: Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines in Rheum Patients

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The EULAR Coronavirus Vaccine (COVAX) physician-reported registry has shown that the use of COVID-19 vaccines in people with inflammatory/autoimmune rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease (I-RMD) is effective, safe, and well tolerated.

2021 Rheumatology Year in Review

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Our top 10 list of advances, game-changers, worries and those better medical practices that evolved during 2021.

My Podcast Gift (12.24.2021)

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from RheumNow.

Dr. Jack Cush tells his podcast story - the genesis, keys to success and recommendations on how to get into podcasting - for teaching, practice, fun or influence.

Best of 2021: Rheumatologists Rank 2nd in Physician Burnout

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The 2021 Medscape Survey on Physician burnout ranks rheumatology second, just behind Critical Care medicine.

The survey included over 12,000 physcians from 20 specialties. While 42% of MDs claimed to be burnt-out, Rheumatologists claimed this 50% of the time. The top 3 this year were Critical care (51%), Rheumatology (50%) and infectious disease (49%).

Best of 2021: Actemra FDA Approved for Systemic Sclerosis Interstitial Lung Disease

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Genentech announced March 4th that the US Food and Drug Administration approved tocilizumab (Actemra) for the treatment of Systemic Sclerosis-associated Interstitial Lung Disease (SSc-ILD), specifically indicated for slowing the rate of decline in pulmonary function in adults S

Telehealth Diet and Exercise Benefits Knee Osteoarthritis

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Annals of Internal Medicine has reported the results of a randomized clinical trial showing that telehealth-delivered exercise and diet programs improved pain and function in knee osteoarthritis patients who were overweight.  While both were beneficial, exercise had a greater effect than die

Telemedicine Upside Interview with Dr. Alvin Wells

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In spite of the transformative growth of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic, rheumatologists use of telemedicine is waning, much like the use of masks. Dr. Jack Cush interviews telemedicine guru, Dr. Alvin Wells, on the current state of telemedicine and what the future holds for telehealth in rheumatology.

Rheumatoid Arthritis, Dementia and Cognitive Dysfunction

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Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been linked to a higher risk of dementia and cognitive dysfunction, but interestingly this association has diminished in the last few decades with aggressive DMARD and targeted therapies..

Improving Rheumatology Practice

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How to best book patient appointments in rheumatology clinic? Should these be scheduled every 3 or 4 months regardless of patient status? Should they be scheduled by patient need or disease activity? 

RheumNow Podcast - Unwillingness to Change Therapy (11.19.21)

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Surely you’ve seen this or been plagued by this patient, one that is not doing well, in need of a new regimen; you outline it, timeline it, define the side effects and send them off with a new prescription..

ACR21 Best Abstracts - Day 1

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The RheumNow faculty have been glued to their monitors all day, watching video, and running down abstract presentations to find the best – several of these stood out as #ACRBests. Here is a listing of “Best” they saw on Day 1.

Treat-to-Target Works in Gout With No Cardiac Toxicity

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New research presented this week at ACR Convergence, the American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting, shows that allopurinol and febuxostat may effectively lower urate levels when used in a treat-to-target approach. Importantly, both urate-lowering therapies were very effective with 90% of patients reaching target urate levels. Additionally, both appeared safe, with no evidence of increased cardiovascular toxicity (Abstract #1900).

Negative Concerns of Telemedicine in Rheumatology

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Post-pandemic structured surveys and interviews with rheumatology patients suggests they may prefer for face-to-face consultations, as telehealth visits run the risk of diagnostic inaccuracies and safety concerns.

Blacks with Systemic Sclerosis May Have More Severe Disease

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New research presented this week at ACR Convergence, the American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting, shows that Black people living with systemic sclerosis may have more severe disease and worse prognosis than patients in other racial or ethnic groups, and these worrying disparities may be driven by several socioeconomic factors (Abstract #1854). This poster will be presented Tuesday morning,  November 9, 2021 in the Clinical Poster III (1836–1861) section on Systemic Sclerosis & Related Disorders.

JAK-pot Study: Cycling JAK Inhibitors Effective in Difficult-to-Treat RA

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New research presented this week at ACR Convergence, the American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting, shows that people with difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis who do not have success with one Janus kinase inhibitor (JAK inhibitor) can achieve success either cycling to other JAKi medic

Ultra-Low Dose Rituximab Controls Disease Activity in RA

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New research presented this week at ACR Convergence, the American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting, shows that in one study, the majority of rheumatoid arthritis patients on an ultra-low dose of the drug rituximab maintained low disease activity for up to four years, and rarely needed to switch to other biologic drugs or glucocorticoids to control their disease (Abstract #1443). 

Are You a High or Low Glucocorticoid Prescriber?

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A recent analysis shows thta glucocorticoids (GCs), usually recommended for short-term use in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), are variably used by rheumatologists, and that provider preference is a strong predictors of long-term glucocorticoid use.

RheumNow Podcast – #ACA: Ask Cush Anything (10.8.2021)

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Arthritis numbers are rising, and people are finally talking about osteoarthritis. Also, ACR 2021 is just a few weeks away - are you ready? Finally, I'll review cases and questions submitted by viewers in Ask Cush Anything (#ACA). This, and nearly a dozen news items and reports, are discussed in this week's podcast. Let's begin.

Prevalence of Arthritis Rising in the USA

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The latest CDC estimates of the national prevalence of arthritis and arthritis-attributable activity limitations (AAAL) show a continued increase in absolute number: 58.5 million (23.7%) U.S. adults have arthritis, 25.7 million (43.9%) of whom have AAAL.