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 Question: Coding for Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis

From the College | November 17, 2015

Post-Traumatic OA A 70-year-old female patient comes in for a follow-up visit for pain and stiffness in her left hip. She injured her hip in a skiing accident three years before and reports the X-rays at that time showed no fractures. Due to no obvious fracture at the time, she was given ibuprofen and advised…

Sjögrens Syndrome: The Need to Bridge Patient Symptoms & Objective Findings

Robert I. Fox, MD, PhD, & Carla M. Fox, RN | November 17, 2015

Despite a generation of advances in molecular biology, a huge gap exists between the Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) patient’s description of their symptoms and the objective findings. Current issues include: Many SS patients are misclassified as either rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), even within rheumatology clinics. Frequently, the sickest SS patients with extraglandular…

Bronchial Tissue Immune Activation Seen in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis

Reuters Staff | November 17, 2015

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Patients with untreated early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) show signs of immune activation and local inflammation in their bronchial tissues, researchers from Sweden report. Previous studies have shown that patients with RA have shared citrullinated epitopes in the lungs and joints, as well as anticitrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA) in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), suggesting…

Does Methotrexate Increase Skin Cancer Risk?

Lara C. Pullen, PhD | November 16, 2015

A recent study connects the use of immunosuppressant and biologic agents to an increased risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer in patients being treated for RA and IBD…

Improve RA Care with Vitamin D

Dewan K. Fahima, DO, & Rafah Salloum, MD | November 16, 2015

Background Autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematous, occur when the body attacks its own tissue because it cannot differentiate between self and non-self. This is mainly through deregulation of the immune system. Vitamin D has been known to play a critical role in bone mineralization and bone health. Activated vitamin…

Rheumatology Case Report: When Moyamoya Disease Mimicks Primary Central Nervous System Vasculitis

Joey Kim, MD, Megha Patel-Banker, MD, Matthew Abramson, MD, Mehwish Bilal, MD, Sanjay Godhwani, MD, Asha Patnaik, MD, Heidi Roppelt, MD, & Qingping Yao, MD | November 16, 2015

Case report: A 60-year-old Hispanic male with poorly controlled hypertension was sent from the primary care clinic for evaluation of malignant hypertension with a systolic blood pressure above 200 mmHg. His symptoms at the time of presentation included episodic confusion, worsening vision and an unsteady gait. A head computed tomography (CT) scan showed a subacute…

Diagnostic Criteria Released for Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders

Mary Beth Nierengarten | November 16, 2015

Recent updates to criteria used for diagnosing neuromyelitis optica (NMO) are aimed at helping physicians make the differential diagnosis of this disorder differentiating it from other inflammatory disorders—a diagnosis that can be difficult given the presenting symptoms that can mimic a number of other conditions, such as multiple sclerosis. Published in July 2015, the new…

Fellows’ Forum Case Report: Palmar Fasciitis & Polyarthritis Syndrome

Naveen Raj, DO, MPH, Marc Kesselman, DO, & Barry Waters, MD | November 16, 2015

Case report: A 78-year-old Caucasian female presented to our outpatient rheumatology clinic with pain in her bilateral shoulders, hands and knees that began suddenly one month earlier. She admitted to stiffness in her hands lasting several hours, and expressed an inability to extend her fingers. She denied fever, rashes, jaw claudication, headache or visual changes….

Research in Temporal Arteritis Suggests Link with Infection, Autoimmune Disease

Shamik Bhattacharyya, MD, MS | November 16, 2015

Temporal arteritis was first described by Sir Jonathan Hutchinson in 1890 in an elderly retired gentleman’s servant who developed red, painful streaks on his temples and was found to have bilaterally swollen temporal arteries with feeble pulses.1 Sir Hutchinson disputed the suggestion that the red streaks were caused by the man’s hat and, instead, called…

Higher Tocilizumab Dose Plus Methotrexate Best for Early RA

Reuters Staff | November 14, 2015

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Tocilizumab improves remission rates and slows disease progression in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a new randomized controlled trial demonstrates. Tocilizumab was effective both on its own and when combined with methotrexate, Dr. Gerd R. Burmester of Charite Medical University of Berlin and his colleagues found. Tocilizumab, an interleukin-6 (IL-6) blocker,…