Articles By John Swope
Need for Pre-operative Hyperglycemia Testing Prior to Total Joint Replacement
By John Swope
JAMA reports on a large Medicare cohort study showing that amongst patients undergoing total joint replacement (TJR), preoperative HbA1c testing was performed in 26% to 43% of patients with diabetes and in only 5% of those without diabetes. Importantly research has shown that an elevated HbA1c level is associated with postoperative complications.
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Pregnancy Outcomes Improve in Lupus
By John Swope
Pregnancy for patients with lupus has long been considered high risk and associated with both medical and obstetric complications, but outcomes have improved over the last 2 decades and continue to improve.
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ACR 2018 - Day 3 Report
By John Swope
Highlights from Tuesday, day 3 of the ACR Annual meeting in Chicago, included the PEXIVAS Study, ACR Reproductive Health Draft Guidelines, and a Proof of concept study
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ACR 2018 - Day 1 Report
By John Swope EyeMah , DenMah
Highlights from Tuesday and Wednesday (days 3 and 4) from the ACR annual meeting include: the important and impactful abstracts covered by the Rheumatology Roundup session; upadacitinib clinical trials; and the baricitinib CV and VTE safety analysis.
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FEAR: A Perception of Fact In Spite of the Fiction
By John Swope
Pregnancy for patients with lupus has long been considered high risk and associated with both medical and obstetric complications, but outcomes have improved over the last 2 decades and continue to improve.
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Low Dose IL-2 Effective in Lupus
By John Swope
A double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of low-dose IL-2 in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has shown that low-dose IL-2 induced was clinically effective while expandng regulatory T cells and NK cells, which may benefit immune homeostasis in SLE patients.
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The 16th Annual La Paulee
By John Swope
La Paulee is traditionally the party/feast after harvest and a time when hard work is rewarded with food, fun, and wine. And so it was that evening; after better understanding genes, cytokines, and pathology it was time to have a good time with friends, old and new.
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Update on Myositis
By John Swope
The ACR/ARHP 2018 national meeting in Chicago presented us with opportunities to learn more about inflammatory myositis. A particularly interesting lecture was HOT topics in myositis. There were a few abstracts on MDA-5 related disease and a few on new or repurposed medications for dermatomyositis which will be covered here.
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Negotiation Skills for Rheumatologists
By John Swope
Physicians as a group are trained to have excellent clinical skills, but the difference between an average and extremely successful physician often comes down to factors outside of their ability to provide clinical care.
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