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The RheumNow Week in Review - 12 January 2018
Dr. Jack Cush reviews a dozen highlights from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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Small Joint Surgeries Drop Among RA Patients
The rate of small - but not large - joint surgery has dropped among patients with rheumatoid arthritis since 1995, a retrospective review of orthopedic surgeries found. By 2015, less than 1% of patients per year underwent small joint surgery, reported Ashima Makol, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and colleagues in Arthritis Care & Research.
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Frequency of Rheumatoid Knee Replacements Down in the Biologic Era
A time-series analysis of incident rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients seen between 1996 and 2011 in the Danish National Patient Register shows that the incidence of hip (THR) and knee replacements (TKR) began to decrease after the introdution of biologic agents for RA in 2002.
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Knee Surgery Outcomes Worse with Low Education
Reuters reports that patients who live in low-income communities and lack a college education may have worse pain after knee replacement surgery than their more educated neighbors, citing results from a recent study from the Hospital for Special Surgery in NY.
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Infliximab Does Not Increase Perioperative Infection
Staying on a TNF inhibitor (TNFi) throughout major surgery has generatlly been associated with higher rates of perioperative infection (https://buff.ly/2iBFVjp). On the other hand, discontinuation of the TNFi prior to surgery is associated with lower ra
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Surgical Decompression Ineffective for Subacromial Shoulder Pain
Lancet reports that a common surgical intervention, arthroscopic sub-acromial decompression is ineffective compared to arthroscopy or no surgery at all.
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Comparative Risk of Biologic Therapies in RA Patients Undergoing Elective Arthroplasty
During today’s plenary session Micheal D. George, et al. presented results of a study that sought to compare risk of post-op infections in RA patients undergoing arthroplasty exposed to biologic DMARDs versus methotrexate.
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ACR/AAHKS Guidelines on Perioperative Management
The American College of Rheumatology has partnered with the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons to develop consensus-based guidelines for perioperative management of antirheumatic therapies for patients with rheumatic diseases who plan to undergo total joint replacement.
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No Arthroscopy Needed for Degenerative Knees and Meniscal Tears
The British Medical Journal has published a clinical practice guideline for the use of arthroscopic surgery for degenerative knee arthritis and meniscal tears, suggesting that many patients will not benefit from such surgery.
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Elimination of Senescent Chondrocytes Reduces Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis
A study in the April 24 issue of Nature Medicine suggests that senescent cells in the joint contribute to age-related degenerative disease and that their removal can abrogate disease.
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Best to Rehab at Home Following Joint Replacement
A New York Times article sheds light on recent evidence suggesting that those undergoing hip or knee replacement will do just as well with home therapy compared to inpatient rehabilitation following surgery.
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Abatacept Use During Surgery
The issue of medication management is a complicated one, especially in complex rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients taking biologic or immunosuppressive drugs.
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The RheumNow Week in Review – 24 March 2017
Dr. Jack Cush reviews news and highlights from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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The RheumNow Week in Review – 17 March 2017
Dr. Jack Cush reviews highlights in the news from the past week at RheumNow.com. News on hepatitis C in RA and risk of hepatotoxicity; TNF inhibitor persistence in PsA; unnecessary injections in pre-operative OA knee patients; and a delay in the FDA decision on abaloparatide.
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AAOS: High Prevalence of Low-Value Interventions in Pre-Op Knee OA
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons announced five measures that inappropriately increase costs in those undergoing total knee replacement (TKR). Data was presented yesterday at the annual 2017 AAOS Annual Meeting in San Diego.
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The RheumNow Week in Review – 10 March 2017
Dr. Jack Cush reviews news and highlights from the past week on RheumNow.com. Sign up at RheumNow.com to received daily or weekly news, blogs and tweets on all things rheumatology
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The RheumNow Week in Review – 24 February 2017
Dr. Jack Cush reviews highlights from the past week on RheumNow.com:
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Higher Hip and Knee Replacement Revision Rates in Younger Patients
Joint arthroplasty has grown into a billion dollar industry worldwide. However, optimal timing and the success of total joint replacements in younger patient groups has not been well studied.
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ACP Recommends a Drug-Free Approach to Back Pain
The American College of Physicians (ACP) recommends that physicians avoid prescribing drugs, especially narcotics, for patients with acute or subacute low back pain.
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NSAIDs Ineffective in Back Pain
The George Institute for Global Health has performed a systematic review of drugs used to treat back pain. Their findings, published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, shows that only one in six improve their pain with NSAID therapy.
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