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Legionella Outbreak in NYC
An outbreak of Legionnaires' disease has killed four people and sickened 65 in the Bronx section of New York City since July 10, according to New York City health officials. This Legionnaires' outbreak is now more than five times the number of cases recorded in the last outbre
Read ArticleWhat's Your Diagnosis? Truncal Rash, Arthritis and +ANA
An 80 year old woman complains of 3 months of rash on her back. It is modestly pruritic. The lesions are both annular and papular appearing over her back, torso and upper arms. She also complains of pain and swelling in her fingers.
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DSB: Drug Shortages July 2015
Several drugs continue to be in short supply, posing significant problems for patients. Foremost on this list is leflunomide (Arava) which is backordered for both 10 mg and 20 mg tablets.
Leflunomide Shortage
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Allopurinol Risky in Asian Population
The go-to drug to treat hyperuricemia and gout, allopurinol, put patients at risk for developing hypersensitivity when American College of Rheumatology guidelines weren't followed, a large database study found.
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Does Antibiotic Exposure Increase the Risk of JIA?
According to the CDC, between 4300 and 9700 children under the age of 16 are diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis each year - the cause of which is unknown.
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The Spread of Lyme Disease in the US
It is estimated that Lyme disease affects nearly 30,000 per year in the USA. While it is is still a disorder of the Northeast and upper Midwest, there are more areas also considered to be high risk.
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Intracranial Hemorrhage with Combined NSAID and Antidepressant Use
The British Medical Journal reports that the combined use of NSAIDs and anti-depressants were associate with higher rates of intracranial bleeding within 30 days of initiation (Citation source http://buff.ly/1gF3uEJ).
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DSB Reports & Updates – July 2015
FDA Scours the Internet for Safety Signals. A Bloomberg News report shows how the FDA is using Google or Yahoo keyword searches to identify new safety signals or drug interactions, often more than a year before they were brought to light by the FDA based on prior methodologies de
Read ArticleFactors Affecting Opiate Abuse Identified
Researchers have determined that adults aged 50 and above were more likely to acquire pain relievers through more than one doctor, whereas younger individuals were more likely to acquire them from friends, relatives or drug dealers.
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FDA Strengthens MI and CVA Risks Associated with NSAIDs
FDA announced yesterday they would strengthen warnings stating that non-aspirin nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs increase the chance of a heart attack or stroke. This applies to both prescription and OTC NSAIDs.
Read ArticleHealth Canada Issues Acetaminophen Advisory
Yesterday Health Canada announced it “is taking additional steps to minimize the risk of liver damage and improve acetaminophen safety,” citing the findings of a government review that underscored the possibility of accidental overdose.
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Safety of Colchicine in End Stage Renal Disease
Colchicine toxicity has been linked to renal function and it has generally been advised to adjust colchicine dosing in patients with renal insufficiency.
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Neurologic Events with TNF Inhibitor Therapy
Demyelinating disorders are an uncommon complication of TNF inhibition and have been described with all TNF inhibitors but also with other biologics.
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TNF inhibitors in Early Axial SpA Spares NSAID Use
In a 2 year follow-up of the DESIR cohort of patients with early inflammatory back pain (627 patients), TNF inhibitor use was associated with a significantly greater decrease in the median NSAID intake (from 54.9 to 1.9 in TNFi pts versus from 41.9 to 22.3 in non-TNFi pts, p0.05).
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Drug Shortages - June 2015
RheumNow is committed to reporting safety issues in our monthly Drug Safety Bulletins. Each month we will update you with reports of new, ongoing and resolved Drug Shortages that will affect the practicing rheumatologist.
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Doctors are Unaware How Opioids are Abused
A survey of internists and family practitioners shows that half of physicians are unaware of how opioids are abused.
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Adherence to Lupus Meds Linked to Increased Acute Hospitalizations
Using Medicaid data from 2000-2006, 9,600 hydroxychloroquine new users were compared to 3,829 new users of immunosuppressive agents (IS) in patients with SLE. They assessed adherence using the MPR - the medication possession ratio.
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Thiazide Diuretics May Reduce Osteoporotic Fracture Risk
A large Swedish cohort study of hypertensive men and women presented at the 25th Scientific Meeting of the European Society of Hypertension, identitied a protective effect on osteoporotic fractures among current users of thiazide diuretic drugs independent of blood pressure level. This retr
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Frequency of Infliximab Infusion Reactions
A Canadian registry shows that in community-based infusion clinics, infusion reactions to IFX are uncommon and mild to moderate in nature.
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DSB: EULAR 2015 Safety Reports
Biologic Use Curtails Sepsis Events. An analysis of the German biologics register, RABBIT, examined the effect of current biologic therapy on future risk of sepsis (#OP0161).
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