High Cost of Cancelling Knee Replacement Surgery

Save

Thousands of NHS knee replacement operations are cancelled at short notice every year, many for avoidable reasons, according to a new study published December 1st. This costs the NHS millions of pounds and increases waiting times for patients, many of whom are in severe pain.

Legislative Issues Affecting APPs

Save

Here's a summary of legislative issues in three key areas: APRN compact and interstate licensing hold up; scope of practice; and, reimbursement hassles.

Consensus Definitions on Difficult to Treat Psoriatic Arthritis

Save

A substantial number of patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), have difficult, persistent and hard-to-treat disease. A GRAPPA task force has developed a consensus terminology for two distinct states: complex-to-manage PsA and treatment-refractory PsA.

Hematologic Malignancies Increased in Systemic Sclerosis

Save

Swedish national study found that among a cohort of systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients a two-fold increase risk of hematological malignancies was seen.

Long-Term APP Retention: Building Success for Practices and Providers

Save

Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) play an increasingly vital role in rheumatology practices across the country. With rising patient volumes and a growing demand for timely, high-quality care, incorporating an APP into a rheumatology team can be transformative.

Turkey Tryptophan (11.28.2025)

Save

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and reports from this past week on RheumNow.com, including reports on FDA resurrections, FM seasonal worsening, and do you fight switch or swap biologics in PsA TNFi nonresponders?

Coccyx and Sacrococcygeal Joint Disorders

Save

Pain from coccygeal or sacrococcygeal disorders is rare, often presenting as a diagnostic challenge. Coccygeal pain is often mistaken for lumbosacral, pelvic, or gastrointestinal disorders.

Treating Refractory Still's Disease

Save

Chronic pain may dramatically raise your blood pressure

Save

Widespread chronic pain may stealthily drive up blood pressure, partly through its ties to depression and inflammation.

Managing Perioperative DMARDs with Arthroplasty

Save

Postoperative complications with arthroplasty may be related to chronic inflammation and immunosuppressive therapy. Yet a recent retrospective study total ankle arthroplasty in end-stage RA patients shows that early postoperative wound complications are unaffected by the continued use of their preoperative medications including DMARDs.

Partial vs Total Knee Replacement: Is One Superior?

Save

Patients with osteoarthritis (OA) primarily affecting only one knee joint compartment did just as well with partial knee replacement (PKR) as with total arthroplasty after 10 years in a randomized trial -- and maybe a little bit better. Final results of the landmark TOPKAT study indicated that rates of the most clinically important outcomes were nearly equal between the two procedures, according to David Beard, DPhil, GDPhys, MCSP, MSc, of the University of Oxford in England, and colleagues. These similarities included Oxford Knee Score (OKS) values both at year 10 and cumulatively during the entire follow-up period, as well as reoperations and revisions.

Vitamin D and Lupus Outcomes (11.21.2025)

Save

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from this past week on RheumNow.com.