“A physician is judged by the three A’s: ability, availability, and affability.” - Paul Reznikoff, MD

Inefficiencies of ANA Testing The Journal of Rheumatology has published an analysis of antinuclear antibody (ANA) multiplex testing showing its nonspecific utility and poor rate of return in identifying ANA-associated autoimmune rheumatic disease (ARDs). https://t.co/85B70egGBw

Wondering what rheumatoid arthritis experts think about the future of treatment? Dr. Jack Cush moderates a special Tuesday Nite Rheumatology session, live at 7 PM ET on August 26th, where experts will dive into a nationwide survey on the evolution of biologics and DMARDs. Hear https://t.co/afYRarqjvj

Biologic Switching in Psoriasis A systematic review and meta-analysis found that biologic switching was effective in a significant number of psoriasis patients; but there may be a price to pay. https://t.co/QEv5jx9AIo https://t.co/06keUfXwRT

There's a transient (1 yr) increase in New Abx Rx among 399 PsA pts after starting a TNF inhibitor. Pre-TNFi, PsA pts were more likely to recv Abx vs controls (1.26 vs. 0.60/yr; p<0.001). Post TNFi Abx use incr to 1.64/yr (p<0.001) but returned to baseline thereafter. https://t.co/LHXn5d7oC9

Pain Flares in RA are just pain, not inflammation. Study of 195 RA pts (11+ yrs dz dur), 49-89% experienced at least 1 flare (median 2-4 flares/mo), IQR 2.1-5), lasting median of 2 days. Flares preceded by worsening mood, anxiety, sleepiness - but no change in Accelerometer https://t.co/twI6wcxKf7

Difficult to manage SpA (D2M-axSpA) defined as failure ≥ 2 b/tsDMARDs (diff MOAs). Study of 129 axSpA pts, 8.5% were D2M, & 3% were treatment refractory (more inflammation- TR). D2M had signif higher BASFI (4.2 vs. 2.9), BASDAI (5.1 vs. 3.5), ASDAS (3.7 vs. 2.8). Predictors: https://t.co/4qdHEFxr3J

Wisdom of Medical Aphorisms The American Journal of Medicine and Dr. Joseph S. Alpert have curated insightful aphorisms from leading figures in internal medicine, such as Eugene A. Stead, Jr., Francis Peabody, Paul Beeson, and others, including Alpert. These timeless aphorisms https://t.co/IqjPKmlVAk

Chondrocalcinosis Increases Osteoarthritis Risk Analysis of data from two large, prospective cohort studies show that knee chondrocalcinosis was associated with an increased risk of incident knee osteoarthritis. https://t.co/Jd1Wb9lWpT https://t.co/QwXn2ehNie