Articles By Kathryn H. Dao, M.D.

The Millennial Doctor- Mighty or Mediocre?
A 3rd year medical student started his rotation with me this past week and the rotation was a challenge for us both.
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Creaky Joints Nails New Patient Pregnancy and Family Planning Guidelines
Patients and physicians are riddled with misconceptions when pregnancy is concerned. As construed by Dr. Jack Cush, most rheumatologists treat pregnancy like a cancer and avoid the gravid patient, deferring to obstetricians who do not have training in rheumatology to manage the rheumatic condition as well as the pregnancy.
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Who Are We Doing This For?
We take many things for granted. I walked 11,151 steps today going from sessions to posters and exhibit halls to learn as much as I can to take back to my clinic so I can help my patients. My feet were hurting, and my back bothered me as I tried to get comfortable for the next lecture; yet, these minor discomforts are nothing compared to what our patients experience on a daily basis.
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Complementopathies: Redefining Old Diseases
From Dr. Michelle Petri’s lecture on Antiphospholipid Syndrome Updates at ACR17 Review Course on Saturday, I learned that there is now a new class of diseases called the complementopathies. This was the first time I heard of this term; how many patients did I misdiagnose who really had this and what are the ICD10 codes?!
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2018 Changes for MOC: More Options, But Is It Better?
Responding to criticisms that the 10 year maintenance of certification exam is expensive, time-consuming, and not reflective of clinical practice, the American Board of Internal Medicine recently issued changes to their requirements, allowing more options for physicians to recertify.
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Online Reviews - of Burritos and Doctors
A new patient came in today; he noted that he made an appointment with me after reading a favorable online review on YELP about our practice.
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Lipstick Rheumatology
A 25 year-old female recently diagnosed with seronegative rheumatoid arthritis was started on a TNF inhibitor. She came in for a follow-up visit and noted that her toenails were brittle and discolored when she removed her nail polish recently.
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Lipstick Rheumatology
A 25 year-old female recently diagnosed with seronegative rheumatoid arthritis was started on a TNF inhibitor. She came in for a follow-up visit and noted that her toenails were brittle and discolored when she removed her nail polish recently. She is concerned that she may have psoriasis or that this may be a side effect of the TNF inhibitor.What is your next step?
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The Purse Exam: a Forgotten Part of the Physical
Should you assess your patients' “purse-onality? The purse exam is an important part of the physical that can help make the diagnosis and improve patient outcomes. I often wonder if downsizing the purse should be part of the T2T (treat to target) initiative.
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What It’s Like to Work with a KOL (Key Opinion Leader)
Rheumatology is fortunate to have many "key opinion leaders" (KOLs) to teach, study, synthesize and pave the advances in our discipline. Who are these KOLs and how can we tell them apart?
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