Articles By Jack Cush, MD
Clinical Trial Boom or Bust in Severe COVID-19
A number of recently published clinical trials are further defining the efficacy and outcomes of tocilizumab or remdesivir in treating SARs-CoV-2 infection. Remdesivir
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Biologic Use for Arthritis Linked With Depression and Anxiety
In a recent study of patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases, the initiation of a biologic treatment or switching to another biologic was associated with an increased likelihood of the use of antidepressants and anxiolytics, reported Petros P. Sfikakis, MD, of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and colleagues in RMD Open: Rheumatic & Musculoskeletal Diseases.
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Outpatient Visits Return to Pre-COVID Rates
The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically impacted outpatient care - numbers, scope, quality, etc, but a recent study suggests that while COVID has changed the scope of care, the numbers of outpatient visits have risen to near pre-pandemic numbers.
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TNF Inhibitors or non-TNF Biologics - First Best Choice?
Prospective observational findings from the CORRONA registry of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients compared clinical outcomes between initial aggressive therapy using either a tumour necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) or a non-TNFi (biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) and tar
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RheumNow Podcast – Good Time Charlie…. (10.16.20)
Dr. Jack Cush sings the news and journal reports from the past week on RheumNow.com.
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Abatacept vs. Upadacitinib in Biologic Refractory Rheumatoid Arthritis
NEJM reports the results of the SELECT-Choice trial, a head to head study of upadacitinib (UPA) and abatacept (ABA) in biologic refractory rheumatoid arthritis (RA); 12 weeks results showed UPA was significantly more clinically effective than ABA using a DAS28-CRP remission, but ABA had fewer safety signals and serious adverse events.
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COVID Transmission from Young to Old
The CDC has analyzed temporal trends in percent positivity by age group in COVID-19 hotspot counties before and after their identification as hotspots.
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Tofacitinib and Thromboembolic Risk
Mease and colleagues have reviewed the tofacitinib drug development and clinical trial data, finding the risk of venous (VTE) and arterial thromboembolism (ATE) to be low and augmented in patients with baseline cardiovascular abd VTE risk factors and those taking higher doses of tofacitinib (10 m
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Thrombotic Risk in Rheumatoid Arthritis Linked to Disease Activity
A large RA cohort study from the Swedish Rheumatology Quality Register shows a higher risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and that risk is linked to RA disease activity.
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Hydroxychloroquine Shows No Benefit in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients
The NEJM reports on a controlled clinical trial showing patients hospitalized with Covid-19 given hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) do not have a lower incidence of death compared to those receiving routine care.
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