EULAR Guidance on Patient Adherence to Meds

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Non-adherence may be the single most untold risk to suboptimal outcomes in the care of musculoskeletal disease.  It has been estimated that 30-80% of patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) are nonadherent to prescribed regimens.  EULAR has commissioned a task force

Spinal Benefits Seen With Cosentyx in PsA

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Secukinumab (Cosentyx) was effective for axial manifestations of psoriatic arthritis in a 52-week multicenter phase III study, investigators reported.

COVID-19 Vaccination - Phase Ib Begins

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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a timeline guidance document on when, how and who should get the commercially available COVID-19 vaccines. 

Telemedicine Less Utilized in the South and Urban Areas

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MMWR has reported on a July 2020 survey study from 1,009 Health Resources and Services Administration–funded health centers showing that urban Health centers were more likely to provide virtual visits than those in rural areas.

Plaquenil Does Not Protect Lupus Patients from COVID-19 (Best of 2020)

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Annals of Rheumatic Disease reports on an analysis of lupus (SLE) patients that shows COVID-19 infection rates were similar between those lupus patients who were taking hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and those not taking HCQ. 

Update on Polymyalgia Rheumatica and Giant Cell Arteritis (Best of 2020)

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JAMA has published a clinical update of recent studies on GCA. While PET/CT scanning are novel means of demonstrating activity, they have not changed the diagnostic approach to GCA or PMR and although there are no new proven treatment strategies for PMR beyond glucocorticoids, the FDA has approved tocilizumab as a first-line glucocorticoid-sparing agent. 

ACR 2020 Reproductive Guidelines - Medication Use with Pregnancy (Best of 2020)

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The ACR has published guidelines to manage reproductive health issues in rheumatic disease (RMD) patients before, during and after pregnancy. In this second excerpt from their guidelines articles, we present recommendations (and good clinical practice statements) for paternal rheumatology medication use by men with RMD and on conventional rheumatology medications and biologic use in pregnancy for women with RMD. 

ACR 2020 Reproductive Guidelines - Lactation Guidance (Best of 2020)

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In this third excerpt from the ACR guidelines on managing reproductive health issues in rheumatic disease patients, we present recommendations regarding the use of glucocorticoids and guidance on lactation and medication use post-partum.

Best of 2020: New EULAR/ACR Classification Criteria for SLE

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The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) have jointly developed new classification criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE); prompted by the need for criteria that were both highly sensitive and specific. The net result is improved sensitivity and specificity, but the use of positive ANA requirement along with a longer list of weighted criteria ensures its utility in SLE research (including early or latent SLE), but not clinical practice.

Best of 2020: ACR 2020 Reproductive Guidelines - Contraception & Counseling

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The American College of Rheumatology established a guidelines committee that consisted of both patients, rheumatologists and maternal-fetal health experts. After a a systematic review of the medical literature regarding contraception, assisted reproductive technology, fertility preservation, hormone replacement therapy pregnancy, lactation, and medication use in rheumatic disease patients, they published 12 good practice statements and 131 recommendations for reproductive health care in RMD patients.

Best of 2020: Infusions in the Time of Coronavirus

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After years of bemoaning the challenges of telemedicine, our rheumatology clinic transition entirely to a remote clinic in the space of a week. One of the few good things to come out of this crisis is that we may learn that in-person visits are not as critical as we thought, which may in turn help our specialty’s access issues. The only thing we can’t do remotely, however, are infusions.

Best of 2020: The COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Registry

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What started out as online tweets and sharing newsfeed and case reports, has progressed to the formation of the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance, whose mission is to create an international rheumatology registry of patients affected by the disease in order to better understand the disease and guide clinicians in assessing and treating patients.