March 2016 Top Social Media News

Jack Cush, MD

Apr 11, 2016 1:10 am

In March 2016, RheumNow published 82 social media “tweets” regarding news, research and teaching points that impact the rheumatology community. These feeds had a reach (impressions) of 86,400 with, 76 mentions, and over 2700 visits to learn on RheumNow.com. The average daily “tweet” from RheumNow is seen by 3000-8,000, with as many as 89,500 viewers from a single tweet. Our social media feeds are just one of several ways we deliver information to over 2500 rheumatologists and 2631 followers on Twitter.

The following is a list of top tweets March 2016. These were selected based on the number of clicks, retweets and likes by the viewership

Poor sleep is the under-recognized cause of 1) fatigue; 2) poor memory; 3) widespread pain; 4) frequent headaches; 5) numbness & dysesthesias. This is the driving force behind fibromyalgia and myofascial pain and the great magnifier of MSK symptoms. Published on 3/2/16, this report had a potential reach of 34,000 on twitter.com.
Women are 1.5-2 times more likely than men to have ACL tears, suggesting that estrogen is key. Women on birth control were shown to require less ACL surgery http://buff.ly/1LP9dGM. This was posted on 3/26/16 and viewed by 15,700
When symptomatic CHF patients with hyperuricemia were given prednisone – it was safe, reduced serum uric acid levels by 3 mg/dl, and was associated with increased urine output and improved renal function. http://buff.ly/1SlvFGA Published on 3/25/16 this article was seen by 9000.
A study of 305 IBD patients shows that LFT elevations are common and were more likely from DMARDs use than infliximab. http://buff.ly/1UCSYzB. This was published on 3/31/16 and had a reach of 8900.
In an animal model, collagen induced arthritis was worse in serotonin deficient mice with resultant increases in TNF, IL-17, Th-17 cells; improved by 5-HT receptor agonist therapy. http://buff.ly/1QND7HS Published on 3/10/16 with a reach of 7800.
A UK population based, general practice study showed that chronic NSAID use in knee osteoarthritis is associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism. While this was seen with nonselective NSAIDs, it was not seen with naproxen. Celecoxib and COX-2 inhibitors were not studied. http://buff.ly/1UhDJeF This was posted on 3/18/16 and was seen by 7400.
A metanalysis of clinical trial data showed febuxostat was more effective than allopurinol at lowering uric acid < 6 mg/dl (71% v 44% respectively). Febuxostat and allopurinol were effective at reducing urate by 45% and 34%, respectively. http://buff.ly/1pMfCsu This was published on 3/28/15 and seen by 6400 viewers.
A study of 543 Swedish patient showed that smoking may negatively affect RA by lowering levels of adipokines IGF1, adiponectin, and leptin. http://buff.ly/1LWTboK This was posted on 3/3/16 with a viewer reach of 6000.
A study of 176 RA patients shows that the risk of serious infections (8.7/100PY) was 2-3 fold higher and predicted by high disease activity and comorbidities; reflected by a high Charlson index. http://buff.ly/25wtNC1 This was posted on 3/31/16 and seen by 5900 viewers.
Using big data from commercial and government claims Yun et al found that the incidence of Herpes Zoster (shingles) in RA and SLE patients over the age of 40 yrs is 1.5-2 times higher than the general population. h/ttp://buff.ly/1LPcZzV