Articles By RheumNow
Prior Authorizations Delay Care in Rheumatology
By RheumNow
Physicians who believe their patients' health is negatively affected by insurers' demands for prior authorization, and the delays that often result, will find that opinion vindicated by a new study of rheumatology care: when permission had to be sought from insurers to provide intravenous drugs,
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High-Dose Vitamin D: No Help for Bone Health
By RheumNow
Vitamin D might not be much help for strengthening bones among healthy adults without osteoporosis, Canadian researchers reported, even at doses far higher than recommended daily allowances. In a clinical trial assessing three levels of daily vitamin D supplementation -- 400 IU, 4,000 IU, and 10,000 IU -- radial volumetric bone mineral density was significantly lower among those (ages 55-70) taking higher doses for 3 years, according to Steven Boyd, PhD, of the University of Calgary in Canada, and colleagues.
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Checkpoint Inhibitors: Who Gets Myocarditis?
By RheumNow
The usual risk factors for myocarditis may not apply to who gets it while on immune checkpoint inhibiting cancer drugs, an FDA adverse event database suggested.
Read ArticleOsteoporosis Tx: Good for Bones, but Not for Cutting Death Risk
By RheumNow
Osteoporosis treatments were not linked with reduced overall mortality, according to a meta-analysis of placebo-controlled trial data.
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Autoantibodies Don't Disappear With Remission in RA
By RheumNow
Immunologic remission in rheumatoid arthritis, defined as the disappearance of anti-citrullinated protein antibodies and rheumatoid factor, was seen infrequently among patients achieving sustained clinical remission and did not correlate with the disappearance of symptoms, a long-term Dutch study found.
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With Autoimmunity, Checkpoint Inhibitors Can Be Used
By RheumNow
Among patients with pre-existing autoimmune diseases who developed cancer and were treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), flares of the underlying disease and other immune-related adverse events were common, a retrospective study conducted in France showed.
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Joint Surgery Rates Remain High in Psoriatic Arthritis
By RheumNow
The incidence rate of joint surgery among patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) has remained persistently high, double that of the general population, according to a new Danish cohort study.
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Opioids Overused in Acute Gout
By RheumNow
Opioids were commonly given to patients as a treatment for acute gout attacks, despite the availability of other effective and appropriate therapies, a retrospective study found.
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Sjögren's Syndrome Differs in Minorities
By RheumNow
Minority groups in the U.S. have differing rates of Sjögren's syndrome and exhibit distinct clinical patterns of the disease, a large cross-sectional study revealed. The percentage of American Indians in a SS cohort of 610 patients was much higher than expected, at 25.3%, whereas the percentage of African Americans was lower, at 3.1%. In addition, American Indians had higher levels of disease activity and more extraglandular manifestations, whereas African Americans had a symptom pattern associated with subsequent lymphoma development, researchers reported in Arthritis Care & Research.
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Lupus Patients at Risk for Heart Failure
By RheumNow
Patients with SLE are at increased risk for HF, not just of MI and stroke, with risk similar to that of patients with diabetes, researchers found in an analysis of Medicaid data.
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