Surgery

hip.THR_.jpg

Hip Replacement Advances

Jack Cush, MD

Hip replacement surgery has been a major advance in the management of patients with hip damage and diminishing quality of life.  While this review provides new information regarding a new type of hardware (end of article), lets begin with a general overview.

Read Article
RheumNow Podcast square

Gout Cavalcade (7.10.2026)

Jack Cush, MD

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news, journal articles and regulatory decisions from the past week. July is Gout: More than Flares month.

Read Article
Prosthetic Jt Infections after prior Septic Arthritis? Systematic review of 35 retro studies/7,447 pts (4,896 TKA, 2,564 THA). PJI rate = 2.6%, more after TKA (9.8%) than THA (1.1%). Lower rates w/ longer intervals between TJA and septic arthritis. 2 stage procedures increased https://t.co/M425Xuc7Z4
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Kyoto U. cohort study of 55 relapsing polychondritis pts (503 Pt-yrs) Rx w/ TNFi, IL-6i or none -- Crude relapse rates were 46.9/100PYs NoBio, 22.4 TNFi, & 12.5 IL-6Ri. Adjusted relapses signif lower w/ TNFi (IRR 0.4) & IL-6Ri (IRR 0.2) vs no biologic. Estimates for hospitalised https://t.co/h6IcVWjqfp
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
NEJM reports a 10 yrs study of Arthroscopic Partial Meniscectomy (APM) for Degenerative Tear — randomized, sham-surgery–controlled RCT of 147 pts w/o Knee https://t.co/WMGRIOunwZ 10 years, found no signif benefit betw APM and Sham surgery (pain, function) & possible worsening https://t.co/979C7IYuyZ

Links:

Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
RheumNow Podcast square

Infectious Rheumatology (5.15.2026)

Jack Cush, MD

Dr. Jack Cush discusses his favorite journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com.

Read Article
Society of Interventional Radiology position statement supports genicular artery embolization (GAE) symptomatic knee #OA pts who have failed conservative therapy and not candidates for TKA. https://t.co/fFkKqRm0s6 https://t.co/0jDhVsgyha

Links:

Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
RheumNow Podcast square

Influential Rheumatoid Factors (5.8.2026)

Jack Cush, MD

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

Read Article
RCT 120 mod-severe hip OA (KL 2-4) pts Rx w/ THA +rehab or exercise. @12 mos. THA had signif. better pain, function & HRQoL vs exercise program alone (WOMAC total -30.9 vs -3.7). (38% of exercise/conservative grp needed THA) https://t.co/6vvRAr6isf https://t.co/VOYgS3PPwr

Links:

Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
RheumNow Podcast square

Follow the Money (4.23.2026)

Jack Cush, MD

Dr. Jack Cush follows the money and all the news that fits the Rheumatology Gab for this past week. 

Read Article
RheumNow Podcast square

Top Four and More (4.10.2026)

Jack Cush, MD

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from RheumNow.com this week - including his top four favorite subjects.

Read Article
Rotator.Cuff.shoulder-pain

COMMON - Incidental Rotator Cuff Abnormalities on MRI

Jack Cush, MD

In this cross-sectional study of 602 Finnish adults undergoing bilateral shoulder magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and clinical assessment, found abnormalities in nearly everyone over age 40yrs, regardless if asymptomatic or symptomatic.

Read Article
calcinosis.JPG

Predictors of Calcinosis Cutis in Systemic Sclerosis

Jack Cush, MD

Calcinosis cutis (CaC) is a common and disabling non-lethal manifestations in systemic sclerosis (SSc). This study used SSc patients from the EUSTAR database to clinically characterize patients and identify risk factors for CaC development.

Read Article
RA pt on 7.5 mg/d Prednisone need hip replacement. What do you advise re: pred dose before TKR?

Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )

Review of Calcinosis Cutis - Surgical intervent. most effective (excision, curettage, laser ablation, etc). Medical measures inconsistently, partially effective, best if used early & localized (CCB, TCN, probenecid, immunomodulation, biologics, colchicine, NA thiosulfate, & JAKi https://t.co/rv0hQBv6nX
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
RheumNow Podcast square

Referral Rules to Live By (2.20.2026)

Jack Cush, MD

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal reports from this past week on RheumNow.com. Highlights include referral rules, combination biiologics in psoriasis and don't use JAK inhibitors in pregnancy.

Read Article
Ortho v Rheum

Referrals - Orthopedics or Rheumatology?

Jack Cush, MD

“Orthopedics or rheumatology, who should I see?" A question, often asked with urgency, posed by those who genuinely don’t know who to see for a musculoskeletal (MSK) complaint.  Inquiring patients, family, or other physicians may be one forum for such a request. Another occurs in the

Read Article
Rotator cuff abnormalities are nearly universal after age 40, & incr w/ age; routine imaging should not guide Dz or Tx of atraumatic shoulder pain. Study of 602 having MRI (58yrs) RC abnormalities in 98.7%;; 25% tendinopathy, 62% Partial & 11% Full thickness tears https://t.co/Jw9rMUQBLs
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
RT @ericdeinMD #RNL26 Inflammatory arthritis pts getting TKA: - increased risk of RBC transfusion (OR 1.39), infection (1.64) and readmission (1.46) - THA: also risk of mechanical complications (like dislocation) OR 1.3 https://t.co/ovW2C2EuXF
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
Obesity, Surgery, and Optimizing Patient Care Rheumatologic care requires a multidisciplinary approach and collaboration with other specialties to treat complex systemic diseases. While many Pods at RheumNow Live are disease-specific, the Pod II focused on Advancing Practice on https://t.co/hvSY5yHZmd
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
RheumNow Podcast square

Maui Potpourri (2.13.2026)

Jack Cush, MD

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the hot item takeaways from last week's RheumNow.Live 2026.

  1. Diet & Obesity Management in Rheumatology - Uzma Haque, MD
  2. Mitigating risk for Rheum patients undergoing orthopedic surgery - Susan Goodman, MD
  3. Paradoxical skin reactions – Joseph
Read Article
TOPKAT Trial: Partial vs Total Knee Replacement 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 https://t.co/SsTXAqs4Xr
Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )
knee.surg2_.jpg (keep)

TOPKAT Trial: Partial vs Total Knee Replacement

MedPage Today

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.

Read Article
RheumNow Podcast square

Emergencies, Independence & Hemorrhage (1.23.2026)

Jack Cush, MD

Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and reports from the past two weeks on RheumNow.Com

Read Article
2025 Lancet review https://t.co/Qbwup6QxZK of Osteoarthritis did not mention/endorse Rx w/ platelet rich plasma (PRP) prompting several letters of protest. Read the authors response: Despite the popularity of PRP, there are few PBO controlled high quality studies to prove its https://t.co/RCaQVXvvfK

Links:

Dr. John Cush @RheumNow( View Tweet )

Recent Blogs

FEAR: A Perception of Fact In Spite of the Fiction

Kathryn H. Dao, M.D.
mjQpmss.jpg
How do you help your patients who are resistant to your medical recommendations when they are receiving biased information from friends, family, and the internet? I wanted to share with you two cases and my approach.
Read Post
How well do you know this week's rheumatology news?
Take the rheumIQ quiz
Take the RheumIQ Quiz

×