MMWR reports the risk of acquiring an infection with SARS-CoV-2 is reduced 23% to 57% when the middle seat was vacant (compared with full aircraft occupancy).

In the United Kingdom, where it is estimated that chronic pain affects one‑third to one‑half of the population, NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) has recently released an updated guideline on the management of chronic pain for people aged 16 years and over.

Dr Jack Cush gives his spin on this week's RheumNews and Rheum Research from RheumNow.com.

A survey study from the  ArthritisPower PPRN or CreakyJoints database shows that during the COVID-19 pandemic patient care was substantially affected in unforeseen ways.

The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) today commended leaders in the United States Senate for introducing the bipartisan Safe Step Act of 2021 (S. 464), new legislation that would place reasonable limits on insurer use of step therapy.

In case you missed it, RheumNow Live 2021 delivers what it promises: a good consistent program pack with high energy interactive learning.

While rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is not known to affect the liver directly, underlying liver disease and treatment-related effects on the liver can often become an obstacle in the management of many RA patients. In his Sunday presentation at RNL2021, Dr.

Several weeks ago, at the Rheumatology Winter Clinical Symposia, an interesting debate between Drs. Orrin Troum and Marty Bergman hashed over the concept of whether rheumatologists should sub-specialize with a practice, research or career devoted to one disease ("Super Rheum"), or be "selective" about what disorders and diseases they would treat or just be a generalist. 

Patients with rheumatic diseases who developed COVID-19 were at increased likelihood of death, with risk factors similar to those seen in the general population but also because of factors specific to their underlying disease and its treatment, analysis of data from an international registry foun

On Feb. 27, the Food and Drug Administration announced it has issued an emergency use authorization for Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose Covid vaccine, making it the third COVID-19 vaccine to be commercially available.  We've compiled a comparison table and some key information relevant to your delivering patient guidance henceforth. 

Among 330 million Americans, roughly 32.1 million have been fully vaccinated and 61.1 million have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine (as of March 8th).

A systematic review of telehealth in delivering equivalent care in RA patients demonstrates there is limited evidence that virtual RA care is equivalent to conventional face-to-face care. Despite current widespread use, there is a great need for credible well-designed research that will address comparable patient outcomes, implementation strategies and long‐term health system consequences. 

Dr. Jack Cush reviews and discusses the news and Journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com.

The American College of Rheumatology has published a draft guidance on the use of COVID-19 vaccination in rheumatic disease and musculoskeletal disease patients, based on the efforts of the North American Task force. The document provides guidance to rheumatology providers on the use of the COVID-19 vaccine and the associated management of RMD patients around the time of vaccination. Here is a summary of the recommendations.

While comorbidities are associated with severe COVID-19 infection, it appears they also influence severity and survival in rheumatic disease (RMD), according to a a French cohort study,

Analysis of the NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) data suggests that one-third of the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the USA is attributable smoking, obesity and alcohol intake.

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%).

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com, with more than a dozen items to discuss on this week's podcast.