A EULAR task force has promulgated several points to consider in managing difficult-to-treat RA. These "points" are unique in directing the rheumatologist's attention to the potential for misdiagnosis and the impact of comorbid conditions on what is perceived as poorly controlled RA.

The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) is actively engaged with the FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) drug shortage team as they work with the manufacturer to resolve current shortages of tocilizumab (Actemra).

Despite spending more (18%) of its gross national product on health care than its peers, the U.S.

The NEJM has published a multicenter study wherein patients with surgical lumbar spinal stenosis and degenerative spondylolisthesis were found to fair equally well (noninferior if treated with decompression surgery alone compared to decompression with instrumented fusion.

Today the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that masks should be used by those vaccinated against the coronavirus in public indoor spaces in parts of the country where the virus is surging.

Medscape has published the annual U.S.

A single center analysis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients found symptomatic osteonecrosis (ON) in nearly 10%.

Lancet Rheumatology has published a cohort analysis showing that a small but significant subset of children presenting with arthralgia or arthritis may have a pediatric malignancy.

2020 was historic, memorable and game-changing. Under the cloud of COVID-19, there were many significant and memorable advances and setbacks for the rheumatology world. In our accounting of most read articles for 2020, (not surprisingly) 17/20 were COVID-related.

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%).

Genentech announced Thursday that the US Food and Drug Administration approved tocilizumab (Actemra) for the treatment of Systemic Sclerosis-associated Interstitial Lung Disease (SSc-ILD), specifically indicated for slowing the rate of decline in pulmonary function in adul

Pfizer announced results Wednesday from its FDA-mandated postmarketing safety study of tofacitinib (Xeljanz), and they don't bode well for the drug and possibly others in its class.

A study of rheumatologists in Ontario, Canada has shown an increasing percentage of women in rheumatology; unfortunately they have lower salaries but see fewer patients than do their older, male colleagues.

The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) has issued new guidelines on the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, addressing questions about initial treatment with methotrexate and minimizing reliance on glucocorticoids.

Rituximab (RTX) has been in the news a lot lately; more surprisingly for its potential benefits in progressive systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Ebata and colleagues have published the results of a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial comparing intravenous RTX to placebo in 56 SSc patients. Patients had to have a modified Rodnan Skin Score (mRSS) of 10 or more. The primary endpoint was the change in mRSS at 24 weeks. 

The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) has released an updated position statement on patient safety and site of service for biologics outlining several reasons why the ACR strongly believes infusions should be administered in a monitored health care setting with onsite supervision by a provid

Dr. Jack Cush reviews this week’s news and journal reports featured on RheumNow.com.

The NEJM has published the results of a French multicenter study showing that prosthetic joint infections can be successfully managed with 6 weeks of antibiotic therapy; this was noninferior and had better outcomes compared to 12 weeks of antibiotic therapy.

House lawmakers on both sides of the aisle pummeled AbbVie CEO Richard Gonzalez for raising the price of two widely used drugs and for the company's "legally questionable" tactics to head off competition from biosimilars, despite pulling in healthy profits.

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com - a website for rheumatologists, by rheumatologists.

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