Conditions

Subcategories:Axial Spondyloarthritis Gout and Crystalline Arthritis Guidelines Myositis Osteoarthritis and Bone Disorders Other Rheumatic Conditions Pain Syndromes Pediatric Conditions Psoriatic Arthritis Rheumatoid Arthritis Sjögren’s Disease Soft Tissue Pain Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Systemic Sclerosis Vasculitis

Rheumatology Coding Corner Answer: Coding for a Knee Injection

From the College | January 25, 2017

CPT: 20611-LT, J7325 X 1 ICD-9: 715.16—Osteoarthritis, localized, primary, lower leg ICD-10: M17.12—Unilateral primary osteoarthritis, left knee Note: When billing for 20611—Arthrocentesis, aspiration and/or injection, major joint or bursa (e.g., shoulder, hip, knee, subacromial bursa), with permanent recording and reporting, there must be a permanent photograph of the needle placement in the patient’s medical chart….

Updated EULAR Recommendations for Early Arthritis; Plus FDA Approves New Abuse-Deterrent Morphine Sulfate

Michele B. Kaufman, PharmD, BCGP | January 25, 2017

EULAR has updated its recommendations for the management of early arthritis, outlining aspects of diagnosis and drug treatments…

Distinct Autoantigens Found in Patients with Scleroderma & Coincident Cancer

Lara C. Pullen, PhD | January 24, 2017

Recent research examined the relationship between patients with scleroderma who are anti-CTP antibody negative and cancer. Combing two complementary technologies, PhIP-Seq and PLATO-BC, researchers identified the POLR3 complex in cancer-associated scleroderma…

Gout Treatments Effective If Patients Maintain Lifelong Adherence to Therapies

Karen Appold | January 19, 2017

Although gout is one of the most effectively treated of all rheumatic diseases, it is among the worst-managed diseases long term, as shown by many studies. “Treatments are excellent, yet are dramatically under-utilized,” says Theodore Fields, MD, FACP, rheumatologist, Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), New York. “This is because some gout patients feel better between…

Biomedical Research Key to Advancing Clinical Care for Rheumatic Diseases

Mary Beth Nierengarten | January 19, 2017

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The importance of biomedical research to advancing clinical care with the ultimate goal of improving patients’ lives was on display during an ACR Discovery 2016 plenary session at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting. The session offered new ways to think about and treat select rheumatologic diseases, including research showing for the first time the…

Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy May Help Slow, Repair Degenerative Signs of Osteoarthritis, Musculoskeletal Disease

Mary Beth Nierengarten | January 18, 2017

WASHINGTON, D.C.—For patients with osteoarthritis and other age-related musculoskeletal diseases, treatment with mesenchymal stem cells may soon offer a potent way to slow and repair degenerative signs of disease. This is the goal, a goal that is moving from the laboratory to the clinic as results from ongoing randomized clinical trials show the safety and…

How to Manage Patients with Giant Cell Arteritis and Polymyalgia Rheumatica

Thomas R. Collins | January 18, 2017

WASHINGTON, D.C.—From diagnosis questions to infection risk to treatment decisions, handling giant cell arteritis (GCA) and polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) comes with a range of challenges for clinicians. Speaking in the ACR Review Course at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, an expert—Rebecca Manno, MD, MHS, assistant professor of medicine in rheumatology at Johns Hopkins, as well…

How to Diagnose Shoulder Pain

Thomas R. Collins | January 18, 2017

WASHINGTON, D.C.—A 70-year-old woman had been diagnosed with rotator cuff disease three years earlier and received an array of treatments. What she hadn’t received was an X-ray. She’d had an MRI, and her doctor—not an orthopedist or a rheumatologist, but a primary care physician—had zeroed in on degenerative changes in her rotator cuff. The problem,…

Psoriatic Arthritis Linked to Increased Heart Disease Risk

Carolyn Crist | January 17, 2017

(Reuters Health)—Arthritis that accompanies the skin condition psoriasis may also come with a higher risk of heart problems, according to a Hong Kong study. In particular, patients with psoriatic arthritis may have a three- to four-fold higher prevalence of coronary atherosclerosis. Clinicians need to identify patients with high cardiovascular (CV) risk so they can provide…

Pulse Therapy & Lupus Nephritis: A 40-Year History, 1976–2016

Morton Scheinberg, MD, PhD | January 17, 2017

Corticosteroids still represent the mainstay of treatment of patients with active disease. They have been used for more than 60 years, and although prolonged use is associated with organ damage, they have been shown to be lifesaving in various phases of the history of the disease. History of Use First introduced in the late 1960s…