All News
Is a Crisis in Physician Manpower Looming?
CNN has reported that changes in immigration policies is but one of many factors that may add to an existing doctor shortage. This and other events now begs the the question, why the federal government doesn't train more doctors in the US?
Read Article
Interns Can Now Work 24 Hour Shifts
The ACGME has revised its traing guidelines such that, starting July 1st, new interns are allowed to work shifts lasting as long as 24 hours, and as much as 28 hours according to a recent New York Times article.
Read Article
The UnderManagement of Gout
Most physicians believe they understand and can manage gout. Yet, the number of gout patients has risen at an alarming rate and the introduction of 4 new drugs has done little to close the education gap and improve the care and outcomes of gout patients. Misuse, misunderstandings and missed opportunities abound in the wide world of gout.
Read Article
Methotrexate and Folate Use by Rheumatologists - Survey Results
The February 2017 RheumNow “Live Vote” surveyed US and non-US rheumatologists about their beliefs and practices regarding folic acid and methotrexate (MTX) use. A total of 495 responses were tabulated in 2 weeks. Here are the results, and comments from Dr. Kremer on his preferred answers to these questions.
Read Article
Psychologic Impact of Rheumatoid Arthritis on Men
Arthritis Care & Research has reported the results of a study that analyzed the perceptions and attitudes of men afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The results are drawn from a series of focus groups involving 22 men with RA.
Read Article
EULAR Recommendations on Reproductive Issues in Lupus and Anti-Phospholipid Syndrome
There is a significant unmet need with regard to counseling and managing SLE and APS patients who become pregnant or who may be planning for pregnancy.
Read Article
Biosimilar Reports – February 2017
Biosimilar reports is an ongoing series dedicated to advances, discussions and developments in biosimilar agents intended for use by rheumatologists. Many of these items were compiled from news sources, journal articles and regulatory documents and are cited and linked within each section.
Read Article
The RheumNow Week in Review – 17 February 2017
Dr. Jack Cush reviews this week's news and information from the 2017 RWCS meeting in Maui.
Read Article
Top Ten Things Rheumatologists Should Know When Ordering Imaging
As a musculoskeletal radiologist, I work every day with rheumatologists. I have been in practice for approximately 17 years and had a musculoskeletal radiology fellowship prior to establishing my practice.
Read Article
Chronic Pain Associated with Poverty and Less Education
Poorer and less-educated older Americans are more likely to suffer from chronic pain than those with greater wealth and more education, but the disparity between the two groups is much greater than previously thought, according to new research.
Read Article
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.
Read Article
The Challenge of Screening for Obstructive Sleep Apnea
A JAMA article presents the US Public Health Task Force review of OSA testing.
Read Article
Ties to Pharma Influences Clinical Trial Results
A study published in The BMJ shows that financial ties between researchers and companies that make the drugs they are studying are independently associated with positive trial results; thereby questioning the bias in these objective trials.
Read Article
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.
Read Article
Do Exercise ‘Weekend Warriors’ Lower Their Risk of Death?
Is being a “weekend warrior” and cramming the recommended amount of weekly physical activity into one or two sessions associated with lower risks for death?
A new article published online by JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that compared with inactive adults, weekend warriors who performed the recommended amount of 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity in one or two sessions per week had lower risks for death from all causes, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer.
Weight Loss Improves Psoriasis
Jennsen et al previously reported their findings regarding weight reductions ability to improve cutaneous psoriasis at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) meeting in 2015, Now their results are published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Read Article
Female Physicians are Better in Death, Hospital Readmission Stats
Do hospitalized Medicare beneficiaries treated by female internists have lower rates of 30-day mortality and hospital readmission than those patients treated by men? A new study published online by JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that they do.
Read Article
CDC Report on Smoking and Smokeless Tobacco
Combustible and smokeless tobacco use causes adverse health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease and multiple types of cancer. Cigarette consumption in the United States has declined overall since the 1960s, but consumption of other tobacco products has not.
Read Article
Physicians Still Over-Prescribe Antibiotics, Narcotics and Opioids
A study by the American College of Physicians (ACP) found that physicians continue to prescribe treatments that offer little benefit to patients, despite the advice of clinical guidelines.
Read Article
Key Lessons from the TNF Inhibitor Head-to-Head EXXELERATE Study
The EXXELERATE study is featured prominently in Lancet this week. In some ways, this represents a landmark negative trial that rheumatologists should review and be aware of.
Read Article
