Video: Every Case Tells a Story| Webinar: ACR/CHEST ILD Guidelines in Practice

An official publication of the ACR and the ARP serving rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals

Update from the ACR Insurance Subcommittee

Rebecca Shepherd, MD, MBA, FACR, FACP  |  

The ISC has worked with CVS Caremark to revisit changes to its prior authorization forms that would have increased the administrative burden on practices, and patients with Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina may not have to worry about switching to a self-administered biologic.

Rheum After 5: Dr. Jonathan Kay, an Artist at Work

  |  

When Jonathan Kay, MD, attends a medical lecture, he does more than just listen to the speakers or watch their presentations. He typically whips out his pen and draws a caricature of someone in the room. Dr. Kay is a professor of medicine and holds the Timothy S. and Elaine L. Peterson Chair in Rheumatology…

Spring 2022’s Awards, Appointments & Announcements in Rheumatology

  |  

Martin Kriegel, MD, PhD, Receives 2021 Lupus Insight Award “I have always found the conundrum of autoimmunity interesting. It’s fascinating to find out why the immune system attacks the body, how it can distinguish self from non-self,” says Martin Kriegel, MD, PhD, head of the Department of Translational Rheumatology & Immunology, Institute of Musculoskeletal Medicine,…

Case Report: Perplexing Pulmonary Nodules

Monsoon Rashid, DO, & Deana Lazaro, MD  |  

Pulmonary nodules are com­mon; most are benign, but the differential diagnosis is broad and includes life-threatening possibilities.1 Our patient is a former smoker who has a history of a complex autoimmune disease and multiple pulmonary nodules. This case was challenging, but clinical, radiographic and histologic clues helped lead to the correct diagnosis. Case Presentation The…

Case Report: Atypical Presentation of Idiopathic Retroperitoneal Fibrosis

Roshniben Patel, MD, Simon Go, MD, Akhila Mohan, MD, & Maria Pardi, MD  |  

Retroperitoneal fibrosis (RPF) is a rare condition characterized by aberrant fibroinflammatory tissue developing in the retroperitoneum. This disorder was initially called Ormond’s disease. RPF may be idiopathic or secondary to other conditions. Idiopathic RPF is a part of the disease spectrum of chronic periaortitis due to its typical periaortoiliac localization. Idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis is a…

This image from the MRI demonstrates suprapatellar bursal fluid of mixed signal.

Case Report: Persistent Knee Warmth Mimics Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

Eman Bamashmous, MBBS, Buthaina Al Adba, MBBS, CABP, & Sharon Bout-Tabaku, MD, MSCE  |  

Intra-articular venous malformations of the knee are an uncommon cause of knee pain in children. Presenting symptoms of this rare subtype of venous malformation often include nonspecific pain and joint swelling, which may be episodic, and accompanied by limited range of motion. The signs and symptoms can mimic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Timely diagnosis of…

Medium-sized blood vessels are seen in the dermis and at the dermal-subcutaneous junction. The black arrow identifies a venule, and the blue arrow points to a fibrin deposition in the vessel wall. Extravasated neutrophils and erythrocytes are seen in the interstitium.

Case Report: A Polyarteritis Nodosa Conundrum

Hannah Krebsbach, MD, Ileannette Robledo Vega, MD, Nirupa Patel, MD, & Nkechinyere Emejuaiwe, MD, MPH  |  

Polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is a systemic necrotizing vasculitis that typically affects medium-sized muscular arteries. The clinical subsets of PAN are idiopathic, generalized, secondary hepatitis B virus (HBV) associated and cutaneous PAN. These clinical subsets are important because of their therapeutic implications. Virtually any organ system can be affected in generalized PAN, but this vasculitis tends…

The ACR Image Competition 2021 Results: Best Overall

Santhanam Lakshminarayanan, MD; IMAGE FROM NORTH AMERICA  |  

Best Overall: Cutaneous Manifestations of Dermatomyositis These images, submitted by Santhanam Lakshminarayanan, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Rheumatology the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, show a 32-year-old Black woman with classic cutaneous manifestations of dermatomyositis: heliotrope rash; periorbital edema with complete closure of the eyes; erythema nodosum on the…

Zombie Therapies: Ivermectin & COVID-19

  |  

He just didn’t get it. I love my mechanic. After many years of taking my car to mechanics who took my money without explaining what they were doing with it, I finally found someone who loved to teach. Whenever I bring my car to his shop, class is in session. He gestures for me to…

Stmool / shutterstock.com

How to Avoid Cognitive Errors in Rheumatology

Megan Milne, MD, & Rebecca E. Sadun, MD, PhD  |  

The 1999 Institute of Medicine report To Err Is Human gave a sobering depiction of the magnitude and consequences of medical error.1 The report concluded that approximately 98,000 people die in hospitals annually due to preventable medical errors. Of all the errors detailed in this report, diagnostic errors have since been determined to be the…