Articles By Jack Cush, MD
CC Genotype and Thiopurine Toxicity
Annals of Internal Medicine reports that thiopurine toxcicity risk is associated with the "CC" genotype and that azathioprine discontinuation was associated with hematopoietic toxicity and lower thiopurine doses.
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What Happened to Kawasaki Disease During COVID-19?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, a new COVID-related syndrome in children, the "Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children" (MIS), was described as being similar to but distinctly different than childhood Kawasaki's disease (KD). A new epidemiologic report shows that while MIS-C cases rose, KD cases fell and remained low during the period of masking and school closure.
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Two Week Twitter (6.17.2022)
Dr. Jack Cush does a 2-week review of RheumNow Tweets on news and journal citations worth noting, along with some opinions on Telehealth, manpower, monkeypox and the price of drugs.
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Flares Not Increased Following Recombinant Zoster Vaccine Injections
Insurance claims analysis has shown that the use of the (CDC recommended) recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) for prevention of herpes zoster was highly used in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases and was safe, as higher rates of arthritis flares were not evident.
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Improved Pregnancy Outcomes in SLE (2010–2020)
A retrospective cohort study has shown that outcomes in pregnant systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients has significantly improved in the last decade, but there still is a high risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes (APO).
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EULAR 2022 Top 10 Abstracts (6.10.2022)
Dr. Jack Cush reviews the top abstracts from EULAR 2022 As chosen by me with the aid of the RheumNow EULAR faculty.
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I Need a Nemesis
A nemesis is so much more than the "enemy". Your nemesis defines what matters most to you and how you will overcome. Seth Godin once said, “Pick your enemies, pick your future”.
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Gout Undertreatment Persists
Despite updated gout management guidelines from European (EULAR) and British (BSR) societies, treatment of gout is suboptimal with regard to the use of urate-lowering therapy (ULT) and normalizing serum uric acid (< 6.0 mg/dl) levels.
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Is Pain Control by Cannabis an Option?
An Annals of Internal Medicine review has shown that clinical trials and cohort studies of cannabinoids use for chronic pain may be associated with short-term improvements in chronic pain but come with an increased risk for dizziness and sedation.
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BSR Guideline for Psoriatic Arthritis - 2022 Update
The British Society of Rheumatology has published their updated 2022 recommendations for the use of biologics and targeted synthetic treatments in patients with psoriatic arthritis. These guidelines follow initial treatment with a single conventional systemic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug, typically methotrexate typically. They noted that up to 50% of people with PsA require biologic or targeted synthetic (b/ts)DMARD therapy.
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