NPs and PAs: Opportunities Outside of the Exam Room Ben Smith, PA-C, Thomasville, GA, discusses scholarly and leadership opportunities for nurse practitioners and physician assistants, as part of RheumNow's "Mission: APP Partners in Care" campaign during the month of December. https://t.co/Vzx6B1z2xJ

Lancet review of skin cancer risk w/ inflammatory arthritis - both melanoma and Non-melanoma skin cancers are increased in RA & inflammation. Also Package inserts for TNFi say all TNFi Rx pts should have complete skin exams "periodically". Skin cancer screening advised. https://t.co/XddFDe0xh8

Japanese retrospective study-194 #RA pts Rx w/ JAK inhib (74 vaccinated w/ recombinant zoster (RZV) & 120 Not-Vax). H.zoster lower w/ RZV (4.8/100PY) vs UnVax (7.8/100PY) w/ overall efficacy of 59.1%. RSV Vax pts who got HZ had signif lower lymphocyte #s, higher SDAI & CDAI. https://t.co/vJJRflJ23x

Austrian 1K Paracelsus cohort study; from 9,665, 296 (3.1%) had RA. CKD prevalence was higher in RA vs controls (11.8% vs. 6.7%, p<0.001). Albuminuria was dominant renal dz in RA (6.8% vs 4.2%, p=0.027), but missed signif after adjustments (OR 1.43; 0.96–2.13) https://t.co/9DnErwT4rX

Evaluation of Rheumatic Complaints https://t.co/cdizOgFqYf https://t.co/YHLAllxpO4

FDA has approved nerandomilast (Jascayd) for the treatment of progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PPF) in adults, based on the results of the phase 3 FIBRONEER trial. Nerandomilast is PDE4 inhibitor,, in Oct 2026 it was approved for use in diopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) https://t.co/WVrGj7q7hB

2025 Adult Rheumatology Fellowship Match is Strong (Again) The ACR announced today that 2025 Medicine and Pediatric Specialties Match results show rheumatology fellowship positions continuing to fill at high rates. The Match uses a computerized process to pair applicant and https://t.co/ynP46pEKCa

ACR: New Data Highlights Urgent Need to Address Arthritis Burden New findings from national U.S. surveys reveal the profound impact of arthritis on millions of adults, especially those facing social and economic challenges. These data will be featured in an upcoming issue of https://t.co/3LlNQ3tx90

Role of the Nurse in the Care and Management of Rheumatic Diseases - EULAR Review In 2023, a EULAR subcommittee evaluated the roles of nurses and Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs) in arthritis care per EULAR guidelines. Initially proposed in 2012 and revised in 2018, the scope of https://t.co/w1IOQxcACR

Optimizing Hydroxychloroquine Blood Levels in Lupus A large observational cohort study suggests that monitoring hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) blood levels is effective in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with a target therapeutic range (for HCQ level monitoring) of https://t.co/7pggMk2pTO

Five Fractures You Don’t Want to Miss In orthopedic practice, missing the wrong fracture can significantly alter a patient’s outcome. Certain injuries may appear subtle on initial imaging yet carry serious consequences if not promptly recognized and managed. https://t.co/zyCRdUkMua

Cases & Guidelines: Tuesday Night Rheumatology Panelists discuss their approaches to a range of difficult cases in multiple areas, including RA, PsA and PMR. Panelists: Audrey Gibson, PA-C; Benjamin A. Smith, PA-C; Emma Bavage, ANP; Jack Cush, MD https://t.co/vl5J9NYUKZ https://t.co/nsTf370bu9

Lilly announced phase 3 RCT TRIUMPH-4, where Retatrutide, a new GIP, GLP-1 & glucagon recpt agonist, was given to obese (BMI >35), knee osteoarthritis pts *without diabetes*. Wt loss at 68 wks was 28.7% with reduced WOMAC pain scores of -4.5 points (75.8%) https://t.co/73yIyvwRtL

Lyme disease is endemic in Massachusetts. EHR study shows Lyme dz incidence declined from 211 per 100 000 patients in 2012 to 86 per 100 000 in 2024 (P< .001), but this decr. was driven by 1 large practice group implemented a new initiative to reduce Lyme Dx & Rx in pts w/ https://t.co/lMCUA9o4Uc