Since 1991, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has been a staple for the treatment of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus; it has been shown to improve survival, reduce cardiovascular risk, thrombosis and renal damage, delay or prevent lupus cerebritis and more. However, HCQ can potentially bind in the retinal pigment epithelium and cause degeneration of photoreceptors, leading to… [Read More]
Patients with conditions that don’t resolve with topical steroids are signal for referral... [Read More]
Recommendations on diagnosing, treating health conditions that cross over both specialties... [Read More]
We are fortunate to have clinical practice guidelines for the management of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) from multiple organizations to help navigate today’s rapidly evolving therapeutic landscape. We are further fortunate to have multiple specialists to manage these conditions: rheumatologists and dermatologists. However, multiple guidelines, multiple drugs and multiple specialists can create a paradox… [Read More]
Approximately 50% of young adult patients with childhood-onset rheumatic diseases become lost to follow-up within the first year of transferring to adult rheumatology care, mirroring the statistics of other subspecialties.1,2 One of the challenges cited most consistently by young adult patients and their families relates to differences between rheumatology care delivery in the pediatric and… [Read More]
Jason Springer, MD, MS, served as one of the lead authors of the ACR/VF guidelines for polyarteritis nodosa (PAN), and talks about the recommendations specific to PAN here.... [Read More]
Filip Van den Bosch, MD, described his strategies for caring for patients with SpA and the possibility of achieving disease inactivity. ... [Read More]
“It’s crazy! None of the pictures online look like me!” a young Black woman with systemic lupus earythematosus (SLE) exclaimed. We could only affirm her observation and agree that it was unfair. Like many patients with SLE, our patient was diagnosed at a young age and suffered severe complications that required kidney transplantation before her… [Read More]
A 24-year-old woman presented to our rheumatology office in 2017 with a blotchy purple rash on her arms and legs. She reported no history of miscarriage or blood clots. The rash pattern was concerning for livedo reticularis or livedo racemosa, and she was noted to have an anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) titer of 1:160 with a… [Read More]
We have all been there when a patient with a systemic autoimmune disease needs sudden coordination of care. Your patient with Behçet’s disease nonchalantly mentions he hasn’t been able to see out of his right eye for two days. The spouse of one of your patients with sarcoidosis writes to you on the patient portal… [Read More]