Articles By Kathryn H. Dao, M.D.
Best of 2022: Emerging Therapeutics for Lupus
29 December 2022
Impressive data on novel treatment for SLE were presented at the EULAR22 Congress. A disease that is difficult to study due to its pleomorphic presentation, unpredictable disease course, and high mortality rates, SLE is considered the dragon of all autoimmune diseases. Here are highlights of four exciting abstracts presented at the meeting with emerging therapeutics designed to slay the beast.
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Best of 2022: Freeze Tag
28 December 2022
A beloved childhood game I enjoyed was Freeze Tag. Players would run to avoid being tagged by the person who was “It”. If you were tagged, you had to “freeze” in your spot until someone was brave enough to come un-tag you. The game ends when everyone is frozen or if people quit. For over 2 years, I have been living in a real-life “Freeze Tag” game and able to dodge COVID19, until now. Sitting in my room symptomatic and frozen in isolation, I ruminated about my patients who had COVID19 and their experiences. I wanted to share with you three stories of three variants.
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Best of 2022: The Sacred Bond
21 December 2022
Patients and their family for years have been inviting me to their dinners, picnics, baptisms, anniversaries, and funerals. I always felt somewhat awkward when asked to participate in a patient’s life outside of my office or the hospital setting and usually will decline politely. I tell myself I should not blur the lines between patient care and friendship. I broke this rule recently.
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More Than a Conference: Life’s Lessons
16 November 2022
Conferences are held for the purposes of sharing ideas, developing new relationships, and collaborating on future research. The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Convergence 2022 meeting embodies all these ideals by offering both in-person and virtual attendance options.
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Think Before You Order: Choose Wisely
14 November 2022
Early in medical training, we are taught diagnoses are made 90% of the time based only on the history and physical exam of the patient; laboratory tests play a minor role. When ordered, tests are used as evidence to support the diagnosis already made by the physician.
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SLE, Sex and STDs
13 November 2022
Once in a while, I find an abstract at the ACR meeting that can potentially save lives and be implemented in practice now. In Abstract #0939, Dr. J Patricia Dhar and colleagues shared data from a pilot study examining a new method to monitor cervical health in African American Women with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) using a self-sampling brush to assess cervical cytology and human papilloma virus infection.
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The Sacred Bond
21 July 2022
Patients and their family for years have been inviting me to their dinners, picnics, baptisms, anniversaries, and funerals. I always felt somewhat awkward when asked to participate in a patient’s life outside of my office or the hospital setting and usually will decline politely. I tell myself I should not blur the lines between patient care and friendship. I broke this rule recently.
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Emerging Therapeutics for Lupus
06 June 2022
Impressive data on novel treatment for SLE were presented at the EULAR22 Congress. A disease that is difficult to study due to its pleomorphic presentation, unpredictable disease course, and high mortality rates, SLE is considered the dragon of all autoimmune diseases. Here are highlights of four exciting abstracts presented at the meeting with emerging therapeutics designed to slay the beast.
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Babies! Safety and Outcomes Data on Pregnancies
02 June 2022
EULAR Congress 2022 highlighted several posters on pregnancy, an important subject as most rheumatic diseases afflicts women during their childbearing years.
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A Guide to Self Care of (Mild) COVID19
25 January 2022
There is guidance published on how to manage moderate to severe cases, but very few blueprints detail what to do with “mild” infection. The first day, I developed congestion and cough, with a sore throat. As the day progressed, I started to have chills, low grade fevers, and myalgias. The postnasal drainage was overwhelming, and when I tried to swallow, it felt like swallowing broken glass. Isolating in my room, I was left to deal with my symptoms.
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