Vibeke Strand, MD: Important Rheumatology Data Coming Out of EULAR

Despite being forced to adopt a virtual format due to the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there has been plenty of data released by the European E-Congress of Rheumatology 2020 (EULAR 2020).

While unable to host the annual rheumatology conference in Frankfort, Germany as intended, there were over 3000 abstracts of studies released online.

Included in the barrage of data were new studies testing various rheumatology drugs including upadacitinib, tofacitinib, tocilizumab, and guselkumab.

The main focus of conference was on the more common conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis, but there were also abstracts on gout, spondyloarthritis, and other disorders.

In an interview with HCPLive®, Vibeke Strand, MD, adjunct clinical professor in the Division of Immunology/Rheumatology at Stanford University, explained what her main takeaway was from examining some of the available data.

Strand also explained how rheumatologists are handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said initially there was some concern about whether or not psoriatic arthritis patients would be particularly susceptible to contracting the virus and would see worst outcomes, but thus far this patient population has not been particularly hard hit by the virus.

Strand also discussed some of the treatments currently being tested for safety and efficacy against the COVID-19 virus.