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Rheumatoid Modern Management is Better but More Costly
The mantra of rheumatologists worldwide is to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA) earlier and more aggressively. While referral of early RA patients has improved, there is little data demonstrating that more aggressive treatment works or is cost effective.
Read ArticleParenteral Methotrexate Intolerance is High in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is commonly managed with methotrexate (MTX), with many pediatric rheumatologists preferring to use parenteral MTX for compliance and absorption reasons.
Read ArticleYoung Lupus Patients Have Higher Mortality Risk
A retrospective study examined mortality rates by comparing 2740 UK lupus patients who were matched 1:4 with controls from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink between 1999 and 2012. (Citation source http://buff.ly/1nJWKIT)
Read ArticleShould You Avoid Pneumococcal Vaccine in CAPS and Behcet's Patients
Althought EULAR currently recommends the pneumococcal vaccine be given to patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the vaccine in patients treated with immunosuppressive drugs, a recent brief report suggests it be
Read ArticleComorbidities Start Early in Rheumatoid Arthritis
A Northern Sweden early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) cohort of 950 patients was enrolled starting in 1995. A validated questionnaire at RA onset (T0) and after 5 years (T5) after enrollment. Currently, 726 of these have had RA for ≥5 years.
Read ArticleANA Negative Lupus Nephritis - Does it Exist?
A recent report from the Mayo Clinic describes a 49 year-old patient with lupus nephritis who presented with new-onset hypertension, edema, arthritis, serositis and leukocytoclastic vasculitis, and who later developed glomerulonephritis and nephrotic syndrome.
Read ArticleUltrasound Predicts Inflammatory Arthritis in CCP+ Persons Without Synovitis
A prospective study of 136 people who were CCP+, but who had no clinical evidence of synovitis, examined what factors may predict future development of inflammatory arthritis.
Read ArticleUpdated RA Treat-to-Target International Recommendations
In 2010, Smolen and a group of international rheumatologists developed a series of recommendations addressing the concept of treat-to-target (T2T) in the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Read ArticleUK Audit Shows Early RA Referrals Still Too Slow
A national audit of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and early inflammatory arthritis patients included 6,354 patients drawn from 143 trusts and health boards in England and Wales. Early arthritis clinics exist in 57% of trusts.
Read ArticleASBMR Guidance on Bisphosphonate Use
The American Society of Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) Task Force has issued a guidance report on the use of bisphosphonates (BP) with a focus on the risk vs. benefits of such therapy. (Citation source http://buff.ly/1Nn0CVb)
Read ArticleMethotrexate Nonadherence is Common
Researchers from Belgium studied patient adherence to MTX (given orally or via injection) in 129 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients over a 16-week period using an electronic monitoring system and two validated adherence questionnaires.
Read ArticleDSB Reports & Updates - January 2016
Comparative Harmful Risks with Targeted Immunomodulators. Desai et al did a systematic review of the literature, findings of 10 head-to-head RCTs and 51 observational studies.
Read ArticleMRI Bone Marrow Lesions Predict Worse Outcomes in Osteoarthritis
Medical Research Council study shows MRI lesions may predict which patients will have more rapidly progressing osteoarthritis.
Read ArticleSteroid Over-Prescribing Persists in RA
Almost half of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the UK receive glucocorticoids from primary care physicians, and of those who are prescribed glucocorticoids, more than half receive more than 10 mg a day.
Read ArticleThe Price of Drugs Continues to Increase
Drug prices increased an average of 10% in 2015 (after a 13.5% increase in 2014) and includes big name drugs from major pharmaceutical companies.
Read ArticleSeropositivity Increases Risk of Rheumatoid Mortality
Three European registries analyzed their cohorts for outcomes that may be related to seropositivity for anticitrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA), rheumatoid factor (RF) and anticarbamylated protein (anti-CarP) antibodies.
Read ArticlePrescribing Rules
If you are responsible for the outcome and welfare of patients – you need prescribing rules.
If you are supervising others or responsible for the training of those learning rheumatology – you need prescribing rules.
Read ArticleCochrane Reviews Low Back Pain and Exercise
A new Cochrane Review published today shows that targeting exercises to muscles that support and control the spine offers another strategy to reduce pain and disability caused by lower back pain.
Read ArticleThe Global Prevalence of Spondyloarthritis
SpA is a common disease, but with large variation in reported prevalence estimates, partly explained by differences in demographical and methodological characteristics.
Read ArticleIncreasing Hospitalization Rates for Shingles in Lupus
An administrative claims study of lupus patients drawn from the United States National Inpatient Sample between 2000 to 2011, studied hospitalization rates related to bacteremia, pneumonia, opportunistic fungal infection, herpes zoster, cytomegalovirus, or pneumocystis pneumonia (P
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