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Is the Jury Still Out on Triple Therapy vs. MTX + TNF inhibitor?
There are several trials that test the efficacy and safety of combination tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) plus methotrexate against triple therapy (methotrexate plus hydroxychloroquine plus sulfasalazine) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
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Increased Cardiovascular Risk with Gout
Most patients who present with gout to rheumatology clinics are at very high risk of cardiovascular (CV) disease, Spanish researchers found.
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Curbside Consults - January 2017
Curbside Consults are cases submitted by our rheumatology colleagues as challenging therapeutic or safety issues. Answers are based on experience, with added evidence from the medical literature and published guidelines.
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Efficacy of Pneumococcal Vaccine in RA Patients
Infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in RA patients and thus vaccinating against preventable infections is a top priority for rheumatologists.
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The RheumNow Week in Review – 27 January 2017
Dr. Cush reviews highlights from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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DSB - Safety Update and Drug Shortages January 2017
RheumNow will periodically report safety issues as Drug Safety Bulletins. These will update you with safety issues, label changes and reports of new, ongoing and resolved drug shortages that affect rheumatology. If you have suggestions or information about specific drug shortages or drug safety issues, please email us at info@rheumnow.com.
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FDA Issues Draft Guidance on Biosimilar Interchangeability
Interchangeability, or the substitution of a biosimilar for its innovator biologic, is on the horizon. Will the prescriber chose the biosimilar in place of the originator? Or will this allow pharmacists or healthcare plans to substitute a biosimilar, without intervention from a healthcare provider?
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PPIs Reduce Post-Hip Fracture Mortality
The association between the use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), osteoporosis (OP) and OP-related fragility fractures has been a topic of ongoing discussion in rheumatology community.
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The RheumNow Week in Review – 13 January 2017
Dr. Jack Cush reviews highlights from this past week on RheumNow.com:
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Psoriatic Arthritis Patients have More Heart Disease
A study of 90 consecutive male (50.3±11.1 years) with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) were were compared to 240 age matched controls without known cardiovascular (CV) diseases who underwent angiography for chest pain and/or multiple CV risk factors.
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Statins Don't Increase Risk of Colchicine Myopathy
Neuromyopathy is a rare side effect of chronic colchicine use. Statins are more commonly implicated as a cause of drug-induced myopathy.
Given the frequent occurrence of the metabolic syndrome, simultaneous use of both colchicine and statins is common.
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Multiple Comorbidity Risks with Giant Cell Arteritis
Elderly patients treated with high doses of corticosteroids are bound to have multiple medical problems. But this was only recently quantified by researchers analyzing a a population-based cohort of biopsy-proven giant cell arteritis (GCA) patients in Southern Sweden.
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Less Education Yields Higher Cardiovascular Risk
Similar to the findings in rheumatoid arthritis, lower levels of education can have predictable negative consequences. And the reasons for more heart attacks with lower educational levels is not entirely clear.
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The RheumNow Week in Review – 6 January 2017
Dr. Jack Cush reviews highlights from the first week of 2017 on RheumNow.com.
Happy New Year!
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Pregnancy Outcomes in Psoriatic Arthritis
Disease Activity Pre-pregnancy During Pregnancy Post-pregnancy
Mild 10 6 4
Moderate 2 6 8
Severe 2 2 2
DMARDs Under Study for Secondary Prevention of Cardiovascular Events
Several important lines of population and large cohort research have shown that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients have a substantially higher risk for myocardial infarction and major cardiovascular events.
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Modest Benefits with Intraarticular Corticosteroids in Knee Osteoarthritis
The current online edition of JAMA examines the evidence from 27 clinical trials and 1767 patients to assess the impact of intra-articular corticosteroids in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA).
PPI Safety Issues
There are more than 11 million proton pump inhibitor (PPI) prescriptions written each year in the United States. While these agents have dramatically changed the management and outcome of upper gastrointestinal (GI) erosive and inflammatory disorders, their use has not been without safety concerns.
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A Low Risk of Inflammatory Bowel Disease with IL-17 Inhibition
Colitis onset or worsening inflammatory bowel disease has been reported with either of the new IL-17 inhibitors, ixekizumab (IXE) and secukinumab (SEC). Large database studies show these to be rare.
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