Planes, Trains and COVID Distancing
MMWR reports the risk of acquiring an infection with SARS-CoV-2 is reduced 23% to 57% when the middle seat was vacant (compared with full aircraft occupancy).
News
Autoimmune Risk of Death Up during COVID
A population-based study in the UK shows that patients with rare autoimmune rheumatic diseases (RAIRD) were 44% more likely to die during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic (March - April) compared to either the general population or their pre-COVID risk.
USPSTF - No Need to Screen for Vitamin D Deficiency
JAMA has published the new recommendation from the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) stating that screening for vitamin D deficiency is unnecessary and unwarranted in asymptomatic adults.
NICE Guidelines on Chronic Pain Management
In the United Kingdom, where it is estimated that chronic pain affects one‑third to one‑half of the population, NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) has recently released an updated guideline on the management of chronic pain for people aged 16 years and over.
Sinusitis Activity Linked to Brain Dysfunction
Have you wondered why fibromyalgia, fatigue or cognitive dysfunction often co-associate with chronic sinusitis?
IL-23 Targeting for Enthesitis in Psoriatic Arthritis
MedPage Today
Treatment with guselkumab (Tremfya) was effective in resolving enthesitis among patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), a post-hoc analysis of two phase III trials found.
Low Risk of Malignancy with Secukinumab
Analysis of ongoing safety from the secukinumab (SEC) drug development program shows a low risk for malignancy in SEC patients treated for up to five years for either psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis (PsA) or ankylosing spondylitis (AS).
DMARD Dropouts During COVID-19
A full year from the onset of the SARS-COV-2 pandemic, rheumatologists are still seeing the consequences of COVID, with many patients avoiding usual care, follow-up visits, routine lab testing and with many self-stopping their antirheumatic meds, because it seemed like the right thing to do.
Anti-inflammatory Diet Control of Rheumatoid Arthritis
The TOMORROW study assessed the relationship between diet and disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and has shown that RA patients are more likely to have higher inflammatory diets, but that a change to an anti-inflammatory diet resulted in lower disease activity s
RheumNow Podcast – Mistakes with Steroids
Dr Jack Cush gives his spin on this week's RheumNews and Rheum Research from RheumNow.com.
Overview of New VEXAS Syndrome
Medscape offers up an informative overview of the newly described syndrome called VEXAS discovered by researchers at the National Institutes of Health.
GLP-1 Therapy in Knee Osteoarthritis
Knee osteoarthritis is best managed by weight loss, as the effects of most analgesic therapies have been marginal and debatable. The use of anti-diabetic glucagon-like peptide-1 therapies have demonstrated significant weight loss benefits; hence this trial evaluated the potential weight loss and pain relieving effects of liraglutide in obese patients with KOA.
Can Targeting RANKL in RA Heal Erosions?
MedPage Today
Treatment with denosumab (Prolia) helped heal bone erosions over 2 years among patients with rheumatoid arthritis whose disease activity was well controlled, researchers reported.
Implementing Smoking Cessation Programs
Rheumatologists are keen to the effects of smoking (increased arthritis risk, worse outcomes, blunted DMARD responses, added cardiopulmonary risks), but often do not have the resources or plan to encourage or implement smoking cessation from the rheumatology clinic. A new study details the success of a rheumatology staff‐driven protocol, Quit Connect, to increase the rate of electronic referrals to free, state‐run tobacco quit lines.
Rheumatology Care Derailed by COVID-19
A survey study from the ArthritisPower PPRN or CreakyJoints database shows that during the COVID-19 pandemic patient care was substantially affected in unforeseen ways.
