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New Scoring System Predicts 1 year survival in Hip Fracture Patients
A prospective study was conducted in Germany to establish predictors of 1 year survival after a hip fracture in elderly people.
Read ArticleFamous Rheumatologist Quotes – Part II
Last month, many rheumatologists offered up their favorite quotes. Most of these were on medicine, medical skills, some pertained to rheumatology and others were axioms for life.
Read ArticleDSB: Managing Methotrexate Toxicity (Best of 2015: #1)
Methotrexate was first introduced in 1955 for leukemia and in 1986 became FDA approved for the treatment of adults with severe, active, rheumatoid arthritis or children with active polyarticular-course juvenile RA.
Read Article2015 ACR RA Guidelines Released– Finally! (Best of 2015: #2)
ACR 2015 RA treatment guidelines were published yesterday, nearly a year after they were preliminarily presented at the 2014 ACR meeting in Boston. After a year of review and revision these have been posted.
Read ArticleHow I Choose Biologics (Best of 2015)
Clinical decision-making, occurring at the intersection of the ’art’ and the ’science’ of medicine, remains enigmatic and controversial.
Read ArticleA Rheumatology State of Mind (Best of 2015)
A 2013 study reported that people from Denmark were the happiest. Reasons were postulated, but it was suggested it was because their expectations were so low.
Read ArticleICD-10: Preparing for the Next Y2K (Best of 2015)
ICD-10 starts tomorrow, October 1st. Your Coding memory will have to increase 5-fold or more as we go from 16,000 to 68,000 new ICD-10 codes. How this will affect each of us remains to be seen. There’s a lot to learn, and many wonder if this will be the next “Y2K”.
Read ArticleStrange ICD-10 Codes (Best of 2015)
The range of categories and diagnostic possibilities is astronomical with the new ICD-10 and its 68,000 codes.
Read ArticlePhysicians Bash Meaningful Use at Open Forum
Members of two professional medical societies griped about what they view as the Obama administration's inept attempts to regulate electronic health records (EHRs) and shared their visions for the ideal online platform at a second "town hall" meeting here Tuesday.
Read ArticleTop 5 and Bottom 5 Joints (Best of 2015)
Who knows or ponders the articulations (joints) more so than the rheumatologist or orthopedist? We know their anatomy, their contours, tender sites and how to examine them. Adults have over 200 bones and up to 360 joints. Imagine if you had to do a DAS360?
Read ArticleThe Nine Lives of Hydroxychloroquine (Best of 2015)
Hydroxychloroquine is one of many medications frequently used in rheumatology practice.
Read ArticleThe Differential Diagnosis of Heel Pain (Best of 2015)
A slim, yoga bending, middle aged school teacher seeks a rheumatology consultation to determine the cause and cure for her left lateral heel pain for the past 6 months. No trauma, no crazy footwear and no systemic symptoms, uveitis, or peripheral/axial arthritis.
Read ArticleBuilding a Better Rheumatologist (Best of 2015)
There’s a certain comfort to work that is rote, mechanistic and almost automatic.
Read ArticleAlcohol and Methotrexate - What Do You Advise? (Best of 2015: #9)
What are your rules on methotrexate and alcohol use? How about casual, social or occasional alcohol use? If one alcoholic beverage is ok, what about 2, 3 or six while taking MTX?
Read ArticleDAS28-CRP or DAS28-ESR: Are they Biosimilar? (Best of 2015)
The disease activity score (DAS28) has been developed as a dynamic assessment tool and a therapeutic response measure for use in clinical trials and practice.
Read ArticleShould Lupus Patients Receive Influenza and Pneumococcal Vaccines? (Best of 2015)
Barry Waters, MD*: I have a 21 yr old lupus nephritis patient on mycophenolate, hydroxychloroquine and prednisone 40 mg per day.
Read ArticlePCPs Have Become the Largest Prescribers for Narcotics
Researchers at Stanford University analyzed 2013 Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage claims for narcotic painkillers containing hydrocodone, oxycodone, codeine and other opioids. (Citation source http://buff.ly/1JgR2Tr)
Read ArticleIn Academic Leadership, Women Outnumbered by Men With Moustaches
A study published in the BMJ Christmas issue shows only 13% of academic positions at US medical schools are held by women. Sadly, and strangely, even the uncommon subset, men with moustaches, outnumbered (20%) the women in academic leadership spots.
Read ArticlePredicting and Preventing Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatologists and physicians are commonly asked, "what can I do to avoid rheumatoid arthritis?" This is usually a concern for family members of those affected by RA.
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