News

Policies must change to curb postoperative opioid overprescribing.

In this week's news roundup from Rheumatology Network, we talk with Dr. Jeffrey Sparks, a rheumatologist with Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston who recently addressed the importance of an interdisciplinary and individualized approach in treating rheumatic disease patients who have interstitial lung disease, a condition that can lead to worsen morbidity and mortality. Learn more in this interview.

Patients with axial spondyloarthritis who smoke may be more likely to have sacroiliac joint inflammation if they have a blue‐collar job or low education, according to a study recently published in Arthritis & Rheumatology. In this Q&A with study author Elena Nikiphorou, M.B.B.S./B.Sc., M.D.(Res), Consultant Rheumatologist at King's College Hospital in London, U.K.,we discuss the study and its findings.

Findings of the trial on tocilizumab fall short.

New data suggests bone density measurement follow-ups within 3 years of baseline assessment are unnecessary and a potential misuse of resources.

Patients with axial spondyloarthritis may be more susceptible to higher disease activity if they are overweight or obese, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in RMD Open. In this Q&A with study author Jean Liew, M.D., of University of Washington in Seattle, we discuss the study and its significance.

Researchers writing in RMD Open suggest that rheumatoid arthritis patients be assessed for the risk of gastrointestinal perforation before treatment with tocilizumab.

A treat-to-target strategy is recommended over a non-targeted approach for managing rheumatoid arthritis patients, regardless of the level of disease activity. But what should the target be and how should progress be monitored? Test your knowledge in this quiz.

The implementation of teleretinal screening could improve clinic workflow.

New data is debunking the idea use of NSAIDs slow bone fracture healing in children.

Children with COVID-19 can develop pediatric, inflammatory multisystemic syndrome, or PIMS, which can lead to symptoms similar to that of a painful vasculitis condition called Kawasaki disease. Today we talk with Jagadeesh Bayry, Ph.D., and Caroline Galeotti, M.D., of the University of Paris who recently described in Nature Reviews Rheumatology related pediatric cases they saw in their clinic.

Osteoporosis isn't unique to older women, according to a review published in JAMA. At-risk younger women should be screened as well. In this Q&A, Dr. Carolyn J. Crandall of UCLA discusses osteoporosis screening in younger postmenopausal women.

Managing vitamin D levels may not be as straightforward as it would seem. There are factors that should be considered that are not often communicated to patients. In today's edition of Overdrive, the Rheumatology Network podcast, we talk with Dr. Suzanne Jan de Beur of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She serves as director of endocrinology at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and president-elect of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

A novel polygenic risk score could help identify patients at a low-risk of fracture from osteoporosis or fragility without need for additional screenings.

The results do not support the transtion from usual care to stratified care for the improvement of sciatica symptoms.

High doses of methylprednisoline with tocilizumab (if needed) successfully resolved COVID-19-associated cytokine storm syndrome in treated patients, doctors report.

Upadacitinib 15 mg and 30 mg outperformed placebo in Measure Up 2, the second part of a phase 3 study on the monotherapy.

Despite negative trial resutls, the data support the posibility of tapering off NSAIDs and the plausibility of self-management approaches like CBT.

In this week’s news roundup from Rheumatology Network, we talk with Dr. Chrstine Anastasiou, a rheumatologist with the University of California San Francisco who recently published a study in Arthritis Care and Research that finds significant improvements in mortality for hospitalized patients in the U.S. with systemic lupus, but there remains a high mortality rate among blacks and Hispanics with SLE, and, now among Asian/Pacific Islanders with the condition. Learn more in this interview.

This study suggests that doctors may want to reconsider allowing repeat antinuclear antibody (ANA) testing. Repeat tests are expensive and hold little value, shows this study from The Lancet Rheumatology.

A few weeks after a camping trip in Connecticut, a 24-year-old woman went to her local urgent care center with flu-like symptoms of myalgia, arthralgias, headache, and fever. She reported having an annular lesion on her leg shortly after the trip. Can you diagnose this patient?

The U.S. FDA has approved the sixth biosimilar to Humira, adalimumab-FKJP (Hulio), which will be available in the United States in 2023 for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, psoriasis, juvenile arthritis and other conditions.

Guselkumab represents the first FDA approved medication for active psoriatic arthritis that selectively inhibits interleukin-23.

The U.S. FDA has approved the first treatment for adult-onset Still's disease, a rare form of systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis associated with high fever, arthritis and rash.

This article originally appeared on DiagnosticImaging.com

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first IL-23 inhibitor for moderate to severe psoriatic arthritis. The newly approved treatment, guselkumab, has been shown to improve the signs and symptoms of fatigue associated with PsA.

A new analysis is strengthening the safety profile of abaloparatide (Tymlos) in postmenopausal women to prevent risk of fracture.

A new analysis suggests DOAC use was associated with a lower risk of osteoporotic fracture than warfarin.

A new study shows that the JAK-inhibitor upadacitinib (Rinvoq, AbbVie) led to remission by 24 weeks in patients with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis.

Methotrexate is considered first-line therapy for rheumatoid arthritis, but if this fails to control symptoms, it is time to consider a second-line therapy. TNF inhibitors and IL inhibitors are options, but which to choose? Learn more in this quiz.