Lana Pine

Patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRD) may be more likely to acquire severe pneumonia due to COVID-19, especially in patients with autoimmune disease who are being treated with rituximab.

Currently, diagnosing a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex process that compares potential lupus with other conditions. It can be challenging and delayed by a period of time, which increases patient uncertainty, referrals, healthcare utilization, increased flares, and organ dysfunction. In this study, machine learning (ML) via artificial intelligence tools based on patient data was used to develop an algorithm to help with SLE diagnosis.

During the study, which ran from December 2016 through May 2018, 301 flares were treated: 214 with anakinra and 87 with triamcinolone. Both treatment options reduced pain intensity for both first and subsequent flares.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Rheumatology Network's highlights from the week ending March 19, 2021.

Guselkumab is the first and only approved IL-23 inhibitor therapy used to treat adults with active PsA and moderate to severe plaque psoriasis (PsO). The medication showed efficacy in skin clearance and joint symptom relief and passed safety measures. Additionally, physical function, health-related quality of life, and resolution of enthesitis and dactylitis were confirmed through week 100.

This week, Rheumatology Network sat down to interview S. Louis Bridges, MD, PhD, to highlight the availability of funds for projects exploring telehealth. Bridges is the President of the Rheumatology Research Foundation, as well as Physician-in-Chief and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), as well as Chief of the Division of Rheumatology at HSS and Weill Cornell College of Medicine.

Pegloticase in conjunction with immunomodulator combination therapy significantly increased pegloticase responder rates when compared with pegloticase monotherapy for patients with uncontrolled or refractory gout, according to a study. This week, Rheumatology Network interviewed lead investigator, Robert Keenan, MD, to discuss his findings.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Rheumatology Network's highlights from the week ending March 12, 2021.

Pegloticase (pegylated uricase) is medication approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designed to lower sUA in patients with uncontrolled gout. However, 26% of patients have infusion-related reactions (IRs), which may be indicative of the development of antidrug antibodies (ADAs). Due to this, physicians often administer immunomodulators in addition to pegloticase in order to prevent ADAs as well as increase the effectiveness of the therapy.

There were no differences in the occurrence of clinical characteristics between the subset of patients with and without neurological involvement, however disease activity was slightly higher in patients with neurological involvement than those without. Additionally, anti-SSA antibody was significantly higher in patients with neurological involvement and anti-SSB autoantibody was lower.

Older adults who self-report rheumatoid arthritis (RA) do not have a Medicare claims history consistent with their diagnosis, according to study.

Subcutaneous injection of tocilizumab has been shown to improve the rate of lung function in patients with systemic sclerosis-induced interstitial lung disease when compared with a placebo.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Rheumatology Network's highlights from the week ending March 5, 2021.

Brian Skaggs, PhD, and Maureen McMahon, MD, sat down with Rheumatology Network to discuss the results of their longitudinal study, “A Panel of Biomarkers Associates With Increased Risk for Cardiovascular Events in Women With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.”

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) believe that prednisolone is a necessary medication, yet they are cautious about taking it due to the adverse effects, according to a new study.

Investigators believe inflammation, which is known to begin before rheumatoid arthritis (RA) symptoms appear, may be a main factor in the increased prevalence and incidence in multimorbidity for patients with RA.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Rheumatology Network's highlights from the week ending February 26, 2021.

“We found that initiation of febuxostat administration during an acute gout flare did not prolong acute flares, and the rate of ‘treat to target’ was higher in the febuxostat group,” investigators concluded. “This may increase patient compliance.”

Investigators explored the connection between patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and an increased risk of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which concurrently correlated with worse patient-reported outcomes (PROs) cross-sectionally.

Generally, guidelines recommend beginning psoriatic arthritis (PsA) treatment with tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFis). However, not all patients respond to this method. Ixekizumab (IXE) improved the signs and symptoms of PsA in patients who had exhibited inadequate response to 1 or 2 TNFis.

Rheumatology Network sat down with Liana Fraenkel, MD, MPH, the lead investigator for the study: OPEX: Development of a novel overall patient experience measure to facilitate interpretation of comparison effectiveness studies. In partnership with CreakyJoints, Fraenkel is a rheumatologist at Berkshire Medical Center and Director of Patient Centered Population Health Research.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Rheumatology Network's highlights from the week ending February 19, 2021.

Rheumatology Network sat down for an interview with Benjamin Nowell, PhD, in partnership with CreakyJoints, to discuss his 2 most recent studies. Nowell is the Director of Patient-Centered Research at CreakyJoints, part of the Global Healthy Living Foundation.

The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) has published guidance regarding coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination for patients with rheumatic diseases, with emphasis placed on prioritizing immunocompromised patients to receive the vaccine.

A study published in Osteoporosis International focused on the changes that have occurred over the course of the pandemic for patients with osteoporosis and found that there have been delays in dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scanning, problems with medication supply, a decrease in face-to-face consultations, and reductions in parenteral medication delivery.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on Rheumatology Network's highlights from the week ending February 12, 2021.

Rheumatology Network sat down for an interview with Glenn Haugeberg, MD, PhD, from Sørlandet Hospital, in Norway, to discuss his presentations for the Rheumatology Winter Clinical Symposium. He will be presenting his findings on Biosimilars: Review and Real-World Experience and Osteoimmunology: Osteoporosis and Beyond.

Rheumatology Network interviewed Roy Fleischmann, MD, to discuss his presentations for the Rheumatology Winter Clinical Symposium. He is presenting his findings on Combination Therapy in Rheumatology and Rheumatology 2020: A Year in Review of Novel Therapies.

This week we sat down for an interview with Arthur Kavanaugh, MD, to discuss his presentations for the Rheumatology Winter Clinical Symposium. He is currently the chairman for the 2021 conference. Kavanaugh is Professor of Medicine and Director of the Center for Innovative Therapy at UC San Diego. He will be presenting his findings on Rheumatology 2020: A Year in Review for rheumatoid arthritis, spondylarthritis, and psoriatic arthritis. We discuss what sets RWCS apart from other conferences and the exciting content that participants can expect.

Investigators set out to explore sedentary behavior, physical and mental limitations, the willingness of this patient population to engage in more regular exercise, how perceptive they were to using technology to support a more active lifestyle, and interventions to reduce sedentary time.