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Pediatric Rheumatology Workforce Shortages
Two recent analyses from the USA and Canada point to a significant unmet need with regard to pediatric rheumatologists.
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ACR/EULAR 2022 Classification Criteria for Microscopic Polyangiitis
The 2022 ACR/EULAR classification criteria for microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) have been developed, validated and are now ready for use in clinical research.
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ACR Newly Revised COVID-19 Vaccine Clinical Guidance for RMD Patients
The ACR has updated its clinical guidance for the use of COVID-19 vaccination in patients with musculoskeletal disorders (MSK).
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The Last Word on JAK Inhibitor Safety & 1133 Study (1.28.2022)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com. This week a trifecta of Gout reports and the last word on the ORAL Surveillance study...
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Risk vs. Benefit Lessons from the ORAL Surveillance Study
In an editorial in the current edition of the NEJM, Dr. Jasvinder Singh comments on the Oral Surveillance trial (Ytterberg et al.), a 4-year randomized, open-label, noninferiority, postauthorization, safety end-point trial, in high risk active rheumatoid arthritis patients over age 50 years.
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MMWR: Booster Vaccine Efficacy in Immunosuppressed Patients
For adults aged ≥18 years who received 2 doses of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, a third dose increased vaccine effectiveness (prevention of hospitalization) among adults without (82% to 97%) and with immunocompromising conditions (69% to 88%), with near similar efficacy.
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Physical Therapy is More Cost-Effective than Intraarticular Steroids in Knee OA
A randomized trial compared the incremental cost-effectiveness of physical therapy and intra-articular glucocorticoid (IA GC) injection as initial treatment for knee osteoarthritis showed that physical therapy gained more quality-adjusted life-years compared with those receiving glucocortico
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Allopurinol Safety in CKD Patients
A study in the Annals of Internal Medicine reports chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients can be safely treated with allopurinol without an increased risk of mortality.
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How Preventable Is Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Women who made at least four healthy lifestyle choices saw their risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis reduced significantly, an analysis of Nurses' Health Study (NHS) data found.
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FDA Approves Skyrizi for Active Psoriatic Arthritis
On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved risankizumab-rzaa (Skyrizi) for the treatment of adults with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA), with similar dosing in plaque psoriasis - a single 150mg subcutaneous injection four times a year after two starter doses (at weeks 0
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3rd Vaccine Dose May Benefit ANCA-Associated Vasculitis Patients
ARD has publish a prospective, multicenter, observational study of vaccination outcomes in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies associated vasculitis (AAV) patients, showing that AAV patients may not be adequately protected after standard two-dose COVID-19 vaccination, but that a third
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Herpes Zoster Vaccination in Immunocompromised Adults
The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recently recommended and approved two doses of the recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV, AKA Shingrix) for prevention of herpes zoster and complications in immunodeficient or immunosuppressed adults aged ≥19 years.
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Weak Vaccine Responses in ANCA-Associated Vasculitis Patients
Patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) did not mount durable antibody responses to the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant after the standard two-dose regimen of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine -- and for those taking rituximab (Rituxan) as maintenance therapy, even a third dose wasn't much help.
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BE MOBILE 1 Study - Bimekizumab in Non-Radiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis
Today, UCB announced top-line interim analysis results from their Phase 3 "BE MOBILE 1" study, that demonstrated the efficacy of bimekizumab, a dual IL-17A and F inhibitor, in adults with active non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA).
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Fracture Risk with Osteoporosis Drug Holidays
While bisphosphonate drug holidays are recommended, there are few comparative studies.
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Why Are Physicians Silent About Outrageous Drug Prices?
This article was written by Dr. Milton Packer, who wonders why physicians are struggling to get their priorities straight.
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The Overpricing of Drugs (1.14.2022)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com. This week we discuss amputations, a $57 billion RA market, an FDA approved drug for Cat arthritis and drug that works in Sjogren's.
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Hold Myophenolate or Not with COVID-19 Vaccination?
While the American College of Rheumatology recommends holding mycophenolate (MMF) in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases patients (RMD) receiving COVID-19 vaccines, there is limited data on such an approach. A recent cohort study of RMD patients showed that holding MMF yielded higher antibody responses than continuing MMF.
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COVAX Registry: Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines in Rheum Patients
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.
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KEEPSaKe-1 Trial in Psoriatic Arthritis - IL-23 Inhibition is Effective
The results of the KEEPSaKE-1 study in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) has been published and shows that risankizumab (RIZ), an IL-23 inhibitor, showed significant clinical improvements when given to active PsA patients who failed or were intolerant to ≥1 csDMARD.
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