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Post-Arthroscopic Increase in Septic Arthritis
A longitudinal study from Iceland shows an increasing number of native joint infections (NJI), with iatrogenic, postarthroscopic infections being of particular concern.
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RheumNow Podcast – I Wanna New Drug.V2 (9.24.2021)
Almost three years ago to the day, I did a podcast entitled, "I wanna new drug." As I go over this week's podcast, I want to say it again. I want a new drug safe enough to use during pregnancy, for PMR, for GVHD, and more. I'm going to cover these, and other topics including lupus, COVID breakthrough infections, and statin use and the risk of RA, as I review the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.
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11 Drugs That Cause Arthritis
This is the #1 question I get from new consults: “How did I get arthritis?”
But as the aching are asking, they are really thinking these joint complaints must be due to something.
High Comorbidity Rates with Inclusion Body Myositis
Inclusion body myositis (IBM) patients tend to be older than those with idiopathic inflammatory myositis (IIM), but the scope of disease beyond their myositis is not appreciated.
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Worrisome Maternal Mortality with COVID-19 Infection
Maternal and fetal outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic have not been well studied; yet a new retrospective study from Mexico indicates that during the pandemic maternal mortality increased by nearly 57%, with COVID-19 as the cause in 23% of cases.
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Canakinumab Use in Periodic Febrile Disorders
A retrospective records review of patients with periodic fever syndromes (PFS) receiving IL-1 inhibitor treatment with canakinumab (CAN), shows CAN to be effective and safe in a variety of PFS patients.
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Effect of Diet on COVID Outcomes
A smartphone-based symptom study of COVID-19 patients has shown that a healthy plant-based diet was associated with lower risk and severity of COVID-19, especially amongst those living in areas with higher socioeconomic deprivation.
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Risk Factors Associated with Systemic Sclerosis Hospitalization
A retrospective study of systemic sclerosis patients shows that acute hospitalization and mortality were not uncommon and were often linked to SSc-related lung disease.
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Lymphoma in RA: Disease Activity Matters
Among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the strongest risk factors for the development of lymphoma were disease activity and severity, French researchers found.
In a multivariate analysis, having a high Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS28) at baseline conferred twice the risk for lymphoma, with an odds ratio of 2.09 (95% CI 1.41-3.38), according to Gaetane Nocturne, MD, of Hôpital Bicêtre in Ile-de-France, and colleagues.
COVID Breakthrough Infections in Rheumatic Patients
Analysis of records from the Mass General Brigham healthcare system in the Boston area, shows that breakthrough infections (after receiving SARS-CoV-2 vaccines) in patients with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARDs) are not uncommon, and may be severe or fatal.
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Not All Immunosuppression Alters Vaccine Immunogenicity
Chronic inflammatory disease (CID) patients are urged to receive the COVID-19 vaccines; but when a cohort of CID patients treated with immunosuppressive medications were given an mRNA-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, only those treated with glucocorticoids and B cell depleting therapies (B
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TNF Inhibitor Induced IgA Vasculitis in IBD
A new descriptive series shows an uncommon association between IgA vasculitis (IgAV) and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), with most cases interestingly arising after or during anti-TNF-α therapy.
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RheumNow Podcast – COVID Marching Amidst the Madness (8.27.2021)
We have a lot of news, information and approvals to review and discuss, though I need to begin with what's weighing heavily on my mind. After, we'll dive into what we learned this week.
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Rheumatic Events With Checkpoint Inhibitors: Tumor Type Matters
Among the factors that were associated with an increased risk for the development of rheumatic immune-related adverse events following cancer treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) was the type of malignancy involved, a large case-control study found.
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Tocilizumab in Refractory Skin and Joint Scleroderma
The interleukin-6 inhibitor, tocilizumab (TCZ), was studied in a cohort of difficult systemic sclerosis (SSc) and was shown to be effective in refractory joint and skin disease with good long-term retention rates and disease stabilization.
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Booster Shots for Rheumatology Patients on Immunosuppressive Medications
ATLANTA – The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices today recommended that rheumatology patients being actively treated with high-dose corticosteroids, alkylating agents, antimetabolites, TNF blockers, and other biologic agents that are immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory receive a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.
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RheumNow Podcast – Booster Shots for COVID (8.13.2021)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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Mepolizumab Dosing in Eosinophilic Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis
A new European real world experience study shows that mepolizumab is effective at both 100 or 300mg every 4 weeks in patients with the rarely encountered eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA; or Churg-Strauss Syndrome).
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Rare Risk of Serious Adverse Events After COVID Vaccination
The CDC had reported the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) study of rare serious adverse events after COVID-19 vaccination and assert that the excessive morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 (and the protection afforded by vaccination) far exceeds the risk of rare safety signals
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