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The Big Need - NPs and PAs
Despite being one of the most satisfying of medical subspecialties, the number of U.S. rheumatologists is about to sharply decline. These data were presented at the 2016 ACR meeting, where it was shown that the estimated total number of U.S.
Read Article2016 EULAR Guidelines on RA Management
The management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has evolved significantly with time. Nevertheless, there are still some uncertainties - such as when, what and which biologic or novel therapy should be used.
Read ArticleWhat Can 30 Years of Rheumatic Disease Research Tell Us About the Future?
As a practicing rheumatologist for more than 30 years, I can recall a time – just a couple of decades ago – when waiting rooms were full of patients in wheelchairs, debilitated and in pain from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other related conditions.
Read ArticlePatient Recordings of Visits May be Legal
The current issue of JAMA reviews the rising practice of patient recording of medical visits and their legality.
Read ArticleDr. H. Ralph Schumacher (1933-2017)
Dr. H. Ralph Schumacher passed away from ALS in July 30, 2017. The current issues of The Rheumatologist and the Journal of Clinical Rheumatology have beautiful tributes written by Dr. Simon Helfgott and past ACR president Dr.
Read ArticleNon-Tuberculous Mycobacterial Infections - Diagnosis and Management for the Rheumatologist
Non-Tuberculous Mycobacterial infections are among the most frequently reported opportunistic infections in the setting of biologic therapy. While there are hundreds of NTM species, only a minority are clinically relevant. In this review, I'll address important NTM diagnosis and management issues relevant to patients receiving biologic therapy.
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The Unregulated $37 Billion Supplement Industry
In 1994 there were 600 supplement companies, producing 4,000 OTC supplement products for a total revenue of about $4 billion. Today we have close to 6,000 companies, producting nearly 75,000 supplement products, bringing in $37 billion annually.
Read ArticleHow Much Testing is Enough?
I saw a patient this past week with new onset polyarthralgia, which led me to ponder how my fellow rheumatologists would utilize laboratory testing in such a patient.
Read ArticleThe RheumNow Week in Review – 11 August 2017
The RheumNow Week in Review caps the week's news every Friday. Dr Jack Cush reviews the news, journal reports and important events from the past week in rheumatology.
Read ArticleJoint Pain Linked to Increasing Temperature, Not Rainfall
Every rheumatologist knows and every rheumatic patient woes about the havoc weather inflicts on joint pains. Yet, research on this issue has seldom confirmed these impressions.
Read ArticleCriteria for Early Referrals from Primary Care
Early diagnosis and early intervention has been the mantra of all who manage musculoskeletal (MSK) diseases for decades. While the rules for referral may be clear to some, the lack of uniformity and promotion amongst primary care providers is less certain.
Read ArticleCurbside Consults - July 2017
Curbside Consults are cases submitted by our rheumatology colleagues as challenging therapeutic or safety issues. Answers are based on experience, with added evidence from the medical literature and published guidelines. Here are four new cases.
Read ArticleThe RheumNow Week in Review – How to ACR/EULAR 23 June 2017
Dr. Jack Cush reviews his approach to attending and getting the most out of ACR or EULAR Congress meetings.
Read ArticleDebate over Alcohol and Methotrexate Precautions
Drs. Kremer and Weinblatt have responded to a recent Annals of Rheumatic Disease article regarding the hepatic risks of alcohol use with methotrexate (MTX) therapy authored by Humphries et al. (Citation source: http://buff.ly/2r70uuz)
Read ArticleThe RheumNow Week in Review – 2 June 2017
Dr. Jack Cush reviews highlights from the past week on RheumNow.com.
Read ArticleNew BSR 2017 Gout Guidelines
The British Society for Rheumatology/British Health Professionals in Rheumatology first published a guideline for the management of gout in 2007. They have just updated and published their new guideline, largely because of new therapies, an increasing incidence of gout, low penetrance of urate lowering therapies, and the inability to achieve a target serum uric acid level.
Read ArticleThe RheumNow Week in Review - 26 May 2017
Dr. Jack Cush Reviews highlights from the past week on RheumNow.com:
Read ArticleEducational Intervention Facilitates Treat-to-Target Management in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Treat-to-target education through group-based quality improvement sessions can result in wider use of treat-to-target in practice, according to researchers.
Read ArticleAbove-Label Dosing and Noncompliance with Biologics in Psoriatic Arthritis
Claims data analysis of 4245 psoriatic arthritis patients on TNF inhibitors showed both higher than expected durations of noncompliance and higher than label dosing - all at an increased cost.
Read ArticleSmoking and Worse Outcomes in Spondylitis
BIRMINGHAM, England -- Smoking was a strong predictor of more severe disease in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA), with people who had ever smoked having worse disease activity and worse quality of life than those who had never smoked, researchers reported here.
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