Articles By Jack Cush, MD
A Shortage of Trust
I wanted to complain about patients who complain, but guilt and common sense took over. I intended to declare the problem to primarily belong to the doctor, rather than the patient. To me, the solution to the patient’s consternation should begin and end with the source: me (you). My introspection, reasonings, and commandments were fine, but I kept running into the enigma of “Trust” – which can either be a speed-bump or chasm in our physician-patient relationships.
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Variable Pregnancy Outcomes with Belimumab in SLE
An analysis of the belimumab clinical trials, the Belimumab Pregnancy Registry (BPR), and postmarketing/spontaneous reports looked at outcomes in pregnant systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) exposed to belimumab reported there are few pregnancies and confounding disease and comorbidity factors to
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Periprosthetic Joint Infections
Recent NEJM has reviewed arthroplasty-associated infection and periprosthetic joint infections (PJI), noting this is a rare event; notably these infections are caused by skin microorganisms introduced during arthroplasty surgery or may be seeded post-surgically, via hematogenously spread or compromised local tissues (skin or bone).
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JAK-pot Study: To Cycle or Switch after JAK inhibitor Failure?
Data from 17 international registries (JAK-pot collaboration) suggest that for Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients failing their first janus kinase inhibitor (JAKi), it did not matter if they were cycled to another JAKi or switched to a biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (bDMARD).
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Burden of BMI on Costs of Musculoskeletal Diseases
A cross-sectional global study shows a substantial impact of obesity and BMI on the health and economic impact of patients with musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders.
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PsA Til Death Do Us Part (1.20.2023)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the highlights from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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AS, but not PsA, has Increased Mortality Risk
Inflammatory disorders are often accompanied by an increased mortality risk, either from secondary malignancy, infection or cardiovascular disease.
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Hydroxychloroquine Dose and Risk for Incident Retinopathy
A cohort study in Annals of Internal Medicine shows that higher hydroxychloroquine doses was associated with progressively greater risk for incident retinopathy.
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Poorer health outcomes for at-risk patients with fractures
People at high risk of fracture who also have complex or multiple chronic medical conditions are less likely to receive treatment for the underlying osteoporosis and also have poorer health outcomes, according to a new study from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research.
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Elevated Uric Acid Is Associated With New‐Onset Atrial Fibrillation
A Longitudinal Swedish study has shown that elevated serum uric acid (SUA) levels has cardiovascular implications and may predict the development of atrial fibrillation (AFib).
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