Across the Table: Cush & Erkan on Antiphospholipid Syndrome

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The antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a common disorder affecting patients with and without autoimmune disease. Despite wider recognition of APS among physicians as well as the expanding research collaborations, many clinical questions are still encountered in clinical practice, which require further evidence-based studies. In this “Across the Table” edition, Drs. Cush and Erkan discuss some of these APS-related questions. Our guest expert, Dr. Doruk Erkan offers up his approach to diagnosis and management of APS.

Rules for Drug Cessation with Infection

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Everyone gets their education about drug-related infection risk from television ads. Rheumatologists should know what the real risks are and educate their patients that they have a higher than normal rate of nonserious infections. But the infection risk is way more related to inflammation than any specific drug risk.

Q Fever - The Intersection of Rheum and ID

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Today in clinic, I saw a patient with longstanding seropositive, erosive rheumatoid arthritis who had been treated with etanercept for over 10 years. She had undergone valve replacement years ago for regurgitation.

Ten Things to Do At Every Visit

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Busy days, overbooked patients and EMR overloads will certainly derail your day, especially if you don’t have a system to optimize efficiency.  However, in your harried efforts you may overlook several simple, smart, if not crucial, tasks while seeing your next patient.

The ONE Thing

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Forced, Rational or Glitch-Ridden Prescribing Practices

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A recent analysis of 3 groups of treatment-naïve, early rheumatoid arthritis (ERA) patients looked at the factors that influenced the choice of therapy.

Rheumatologist's Vacation Checklist

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Nearly half of all available vacation days go unused and over 40% of Americans failed to use any vacation days in 2015. Common sense says that taking more time off (not less) is likely to lead to increased work productivity. Your next vacation is essential to building a better you. Here are some tips to insure you get the most from your time off.

The Retiring Rheumatologist

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Just last week, I went to a doctor’s retirement party.  It was festive, with honors and ribbing for the lucky one, but there was an asterisk to his milestone. Retirement was not anticipated or planned for. What is your retirement plan?

My Approach to Difficult RA

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Patients are labeled as having “difficult RA" when: 1) we are frustrated, 2) it's too late, 3) we've run out of options or 4) the relationship is failing. We see them, but don’t quite know what to do with them.

The Great Masquerader

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What You Don't Know

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“It’s unbelievable how much you don’t know about the game you’ve been playing all your life.” - Mickey Mantle

The Negotiator

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This is going to be my third visit with this patient and I’m not looking forward to it.

In the first two, I discovered how sick she was and how, despite my handouts, efforts, insights and words, my educated medical expertise was totally wasted.