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The RheumNow Week in Review –Fateful Outcomes in Rheumatology (7.13.18)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com. Fateful outcomes in Rheumatology, what happens to Seronegatives, IL-23 fails, MRI progression, Not all inflammatory back pain becomes SpA:
Read ArticleCDC Obesity Prevalence Higher in the Rural USA
MMWR reports that approximately 46 million persons (14%) in the United States live in nonmetropolitan counties, where there is a higher prevalence of obesity-associated chronic diseases such as diabetes, coronary heart disease, and arthritis.
Read ArticleWeight Loss Lessens Knee Pain in Obese
Obese knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients who lose > 20% of their weight were in significantly less pain, had better function and improved quality of life.
Read ArticleCanada Closer to Marijuana Approval
Reuters reports that Canada’s Senate on Thursday voted to legalize recreational marijuana, clearing a major hurdle that puts the country on track to become the first Group of Seven nation to permit national use of the drug.
Read ArticleBlacks Suffer When Pain is Poorly Defined
Racial discrimination was a key feature at a 2-day summit on pain management and the opioid crisis, hosted by the National Institutes of Health on Thursday and Friday.
Read ArticlePrescription Drug Monitoring Programs Fail to Deter Opiate Abuse
A systematic review of prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs), advocated in the president's Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Plan, fails to show evidence of efficacy in preventing nonfatal and fatal overdoses.
Read ArticleMeasures of Opioid Misuse Predict Future Opioid Overdose and Death
The current issue of Annals of Internal Medicine examines patterns of potential opioid misuse that are associated with subsequent adverse outcomes nationally.
Read ArticleOpioid Marketing & Meals Tied to Opioid Prescribing
A current study in JAMA Internal Medicine showed that while US physicians who received no opioid-related marketing payments had fewer opioid prescriptions in 2015 compared with 2014, those receiving such payments wrote for more opioid in 2015.
Read ArticleNew EULAR Pain Guidelines
The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) convened a multidisciplinary task force including health professionals and patient representatives to develop evidence-based recommendations for pain management in patients with inflammatory arthritis (IA) and osteoarthritis (OA).
Read ArticleElderly Often Untested for Sleep Apnea
Geriatric patients are at a higher risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), yet they are seldom diiagnosed or evaluated for OSA.
A recent study shows that 56% of people 65 years and older have a high risk of OSA, but that only 8% were tested for OSA.
Read ArticleWill Aspirin Cotherapy Undermine Celecoxib’s Safety Effects?
The PRECISION study took 11 years and 24,081 patients (90% OA; 10% RA).
Read ArticleNSAIDs and Acetaminophen Preferred Over Opioids for Dental Pain
A systematic review in the Journal of the American Dental Association evaluated the safety and efficacy of analgesics and foundp opioids less effective than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) alone or in combination with acetaminophen when treating dental pain.
Read ArticleMMWR: Cannabis Use in the Colorado Workers
MMWR reports that eight states, including Colorado, have legalized recreational marijuana for use by adults and that a study of use in Colorado has shown that nearly 15% of Colorado adult workers have used marijuana in the past 30 days.
Read ArticleACR Projects Significant Manpower Shortages for 2030
Arthritis & Rheumatology has published the results of the 2015 Workforce Study of Rheumatology Specialists, and estimates a current shortage (demand > supply) of 700 (12.9%) full-time rheumatologists and that this deficit will worsen (102%) to 4133 FTE by 2030.
Read ArticleLancet Tackles the Global Challenge of Low Back Pain
Lancet has several reports on low back pain (LBP) as a major problem worldwide, largely because of the aging population.
Low back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide.
Read ArticleCannabis Laws Lessen the Opioid Crisis
Three reports from JAMA Internal Medicine demonstrate favorable trends with less opioid use when cannabis became legal.
Read ArticleObesity Surgery Tames Knee OA Pain
Laparoscopic gastric band (LAGB) surgery was associated with significant decreases in knee pain from osteoarthritis (OA), with the greatest improvements seen among those whose body mass index (BMI) had the greatest decreases and among younger patients, researchers reported.
Read ArticleTai Chi Eases Fibromyalgia Pain
The mind-body practice of tai chi was as effective or better than currently recommended aerobic exercise for fibromyalgia, a randomized controlled trial demonstrated.
Read ArticleShoe Inserts Disappoint with Plantar Heel Pain
A report from the British Journal of Sports Medicine shows that commonly used drug store shoe inserts or customized orthotics are often ineffective in managing plantar heel pain.
Read ArticleNovel Approach to Knee Osteoarthritis Pain
Geniculate artery embolization was found to dampen knee pain arising from osteoarthritis, according to interim study results presented at the 2018 annual meeting of the Society of Interventional Radiology.
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