All News
Cutting Oral JAK 1/2 Inhibitor Dose an Option in RA
Many patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who achieved sustained disease control with baricitinib (Olumiant) treatment were able to reduce their daily dose from 4 mg to 2 mg and maintain their response, a double-blind substudy of a long-term extension trial found.
Read Article
Physician Burnout May Jeopardize Patient Safety
A metanalysis of studies and over 42,000 physician shows that MD burnout is associated with 2-fold increased in unsafe care, unprofessional behaviors, and low patient satisfaction.
The primary outcomes were the quantitative associations between burnout and patient safety, professionalism, and patient satisfaction.
Interferon Blocker Disappoints in SLE
Yet another setback has occurred in the efforts to develop new medications for treating systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), as anifrolumab failed to meet the primary endpoint in a phase III trial, according to AstraZeneca and MedImmune.
Read Article
Osteoarthritis and the Risk of Mortality
Osteoarthritis (OA) affects 27 million Americans but its affect on mortality is uncertain. A recent study shows that while self-reported OA does not increase mortality, radiographic OA of the knee (RKOA) is associated with higher mortality related to CVD, diabetes and renal disease.
Read Article
Usual Allopurinol Doses Insufficient in CKD Patients
Uric acid (sUA) control may be a challenge in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). A cohort study shows that conventional dosing recommendations for allopurinol are unlikely to reach target serum sUA goals.
Read Article
CRA Recommendations for Lupus Assessment and Monitoring
A Canadian Rheumatology Association SLE Working Group was established to develop recommendations for the assessment of people with systemic lupus erythematosus.
A panel that included 23 adult rheumatologists, 4 pediatric rheumatologists, 1 immunologist, 4 general internal medicine and rheumatology trainees, and a patient representative, used GRADE methodology to assess the literature and develop guidelines.
Tocilizumab Equals other Biologics in Cardiovascular Risk
An odd side effect of several new agents is the risk of hyperlipidemia. While this has been seen with tocilizumab (TCZ), there does not appear to be a resultant risk of cardiovascular (CV) events. A study of claims data compared CV risk in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients receiving TOC (an IL6 receptor antagonists) and other biologics and found no differences with regard to CV outcomes.
Read Article
New BSR Guidelines on Biologic Safe Use with Inflammatory Arthritis
The British Society of Rheumatology has produced a set of NICE accredited guidelines for the use of biologic therapies in patients with inflammatory arthritis.
Read Article
Treatment Preferences in Still’s Disease
In July 2018, RheumNow launched a “Live Vote” survey of US and non-US rheumatologists that asked how they diagnose and treat systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA), also known as “Still’s disease”. It appears that many prefer to start therapy with an IL-1 inhibitor, after a course of steroids and MTX/DMARD. Yet, these findings suggest there are significant unmet needs in the diagnosis and management of sJIA patients.
Read Article
Adherence to Gout Therapies Painfully Low
A retrospective study of the large UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink assessed patient compliance in gout and found that adherence to allopurinol is poor, especially among females and younger patients and those with fewer comorbidities.
Read Article
2018 EULAR Recommendations for Hand Osteoarthritis Care
The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) has previously put forth recommendations for management of hand osteoarthritis (OA) in 2007. But since then, advances and further evidence have emerged.
Read Article
The Safety of Paternal Exposure to DMARDs and Biologics
Pregnancy and drug safety is a complex issue, often with limited informatoin about maternal drug exposure on the offspring. Greater uncertainty exists when considering whether paternal exposure may also influence fetal outcomes.
Read ArticleQuestions Remain about Shingrix Safety in Rheumatic Disease
The efficacy and safety of the new zoster vaccine Shingrix has not been established among patients with autoimmune diseases, researchers reported here.
Read Article
2018-2019 ACIP Recommendations for Seasonal Influenza Vaccination
The current issue of the CDC's MMWR reviews the new seasonal recommendations for vaccination against influenza. This is an update to the previous recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
Read Article
Not All Hyperuricemia Leads to Gout
Dalbeth and colleagues studied 4 large prospective cohorts and found that rising levels of serum uric acid (SUA) leads to a non-linear increased risk of incident gout, but only half of those with SUA ≥10mg/dL developed clinically evident gout.
Read Article
Treatments Do Not Increase Infection Risk in Ankylosing Spondylitis
A large Canadian study of the drug use in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) demonstrated no evidence that the risk of serious, hospitalized infection was influenced by the use of DMARD and/or of tumour necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) therapy.
Read Article
IL-12 and IL-23 Promote Giant Cell Arteritis
It has been postulated that TH1 and TH17 pathways are implicated in the pathogenesis of giant cell arteritis (GCA); this is supported by new research showing that interleukin 12 (IL-12) and interleukin 23 (IL-23) may stimulate inflammatory and proliferative pathways relevant to the path
Read Article
Dietary Recommendations for Psoriatic Disease
A systematic review by the Medical Board of the National Psoriasis Foundation examined the role of diet in managing adult patients with psoriasis and/or psoriatic arthritis and suggest that dietary interventions to reduce disease severity.
Read Article
Health Secretary Azar Eyes Rebate Reform
Reuters reports that the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar had declared his agency has the authority to eliminate rebates on prescription drug purchases, a key element in the administration’s plan to lower prescription medicine costs.
Read Article
Managing Comorbidity and Poor Drug Responses
Comorbidity is pervasive and complicates medical care in general. It can be a by-product of aging. It may result from drug therapy or an inciting disease process and may be part of the constellation that defines the primary disorder. A growing body of evidence that suggests that comorbidity has a significant dampening effect on drug responsiveness and, adds to poorer outcomes in patients with inflammatory arthritis.
Read Article