A UK cross-sectional EHR clinical practice analysis between 2004 and 2020 shows that analgesic prescribing in inflammatory arthritis patients has declined, but still remains substantial, including opioid prescribing. Data was drawn from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink Aurum to evaluate analgesic prescription annual prevalence in patients with RA, PsA and axSpA and found that analgesic prescribing declined over time but remained common.
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from this past week on RheumNow.com.
Sjögren disease (SjD) is highly prevalent, but diagnosis may be challenged if anti-SSA antibodies or a labial salivary gland biopsy are negative. A recent cohort analysis suggests a novel autoantibody profile has predictive value SSA negative SjD and also in those with a positive labial biopsy.
Once again RheumNow Live 2024 really delivered with high impact learning packed into short sessions. As someone with an interest in vasculitis it was fantastic to see four of my favorite speakers in the Vasculitis Mavens and STEP talks. They gave us what we really want from these talks – personal opinions and approaches that go beyond the guidelines. They really dropped a selection of pearls on us and I wanted to share a few of these with you.
Approximately 12 million US adults in the US have gout. Two recent literature reports in JAMA and Arthritis Care & Research highlight contributors to gout flares.
A new scientific review of 148 studies enrolling over 4.3 million adult chronic pain patients treated with prescription opioid painkillers has found that nearly one in ten patients experiences opioid dependence or opioid use disorder and nearly one in three shows symptoms of dependence and opioid use disorder.
Dr. Madelaine Feldman has written an important commentary on the 340B Drug Pricing Program, a safety-net program that would allow vulnerable populations to receive expensive new therapies. But she points out that "this well-intentioned program has strayed from its original purpose", allowing certain hospitals and for-profit pharmacies to exploit the program.
Abstract 1731 is a small RCT of baricitinib in inflammatory myositis comparing early start baricitinib to later start.
A Spanish Collaborative Group study of Tocilizumab (TCZ) in Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA) demonstrated high efficacy regardless of the different vascular phenotypes treated.
Introduction of biosimilars for the rheumatology drug adalimumab, whose original branded version Humira has long been a blockbuster, appears to have led to a dramatic drop in net spending for these products -- even though biosimilars barely dented Humira prescription rates.
Different factors are known to influence disease characteristics and outcomes in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Recently, there is new evidence that sex-related differences play a role not only in disease manifestations but also in efficacy and safety of treatments as well as outcomes and prognosis.
Lupus nephritis is one of the most silent and severe manifestations of SLE. When not captured early, patients are at high risk of progressing to end-stage renal disease, which would require dialysis or transplantation. Renal biopsy remains the gold standard for diagnosis and disease classification. However, the procedure is invasive and very painful. Non-invasive measures are critical for early detection and continuous monitoring.
Are emulation ‘trials’ helpful, despite the biases that occur with observational data, or do they truly mimic the results of randomized controlled trials (RCTs)?
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com
Rates of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) were doubled in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) relative to other people of the same age and sex, researchers found.On the other hand, risk for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) wasn't significantly higher in the RA patients, according to Katherine Liao, MD, MPH, of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues.
