Some aspects of community practice are normalizing amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but the financial fallout and the need for increased safety precautions remain challenging.
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Some aspects of community practice are normalizing amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but the financial fallout and the need for increased safety precautions remain challenging.
Kimberly Retzlaff |
SNOWMASS VILLAGE, COLO.—Current trends in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) therapy are the increased use of newer medication categories, such as Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors (Jakinibs) and biologics, and the rising costs of treatment. Unchanged is the consistent use of methotrexate as an effective therapy. These topics and more were discussed at the ACR Winter Symposium during…
Kimberly Retzlaff |
SNOWMASS VILLAGE, COLO.—Janus kinase inhibitors—or Jakinibs—are a relatively new class of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) that perform well and have a safety profile comparable to biologics. This group of drugs was the subject of The New Frontier: Comparative Safety of JAK Inhibitors, a presentation given at the ACR Winter Symposium by Kevin L. Winthrop, MD,…
Lisa Rapaport |
(Reuters Health)—The live herpes zoster vaccine does not provide reliable long-term protection in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients taking tofacitinib, a recent study suggests. Current ACR guidelines conditionally recommend that patients with RA who are 50 years and older be vaccinated against herpes zoster prior to starting therapy with the Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor tofacitinib or…
Involving pharmacists in the management of chronic diseases benefits patients, says Wendy Ramey, BSPharm, RPh, CSP, a clinical pharmacy specialist in rheumatology at the University of Kentucky, Lexington. She knows this personally. As someone with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Ms. Ramey knows pharmacists can play an important role in patient education and encouraging adherence to medications….
Bryn Nelson, PhD |
SEATTLE—At the first regional vasculitis patient conference ever held in the Pacific Northwest, a panoramic view of Mt. Rainier on a clear January morning set the tone for a day of optimistic talks about recent successes against the various forms of blood vessel inflammation. One attendee at the Jan. 12 conference, sponsored by the Vasculitis…
Paul H. Caldron, DO, PhD, MBA, & John R.P. Tesser, MD |
As we turn the corner on the second decade of biologic use for rheumatic disorders, a reappraisal of approach in our communication with patients is due. In practice, the impact these agents have on patients’ lives justifies the friction rheumatologists face when connecting patients to them. You can understand why older rheumatologists who apprenticed on…
Varicella-zoster-virus (VZV) reactivation, which can cause patients to develop herpes zoster (i.e., shingles), occurs more frequently in patients with systemic vasculitis and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who have received intravenous cyclophosphamide than in otherwise healthy adults, according to a retrospective study published in The Journal of Rheumatology by researchers in France.1 The study also shows…
Patients can experience many different types of pain, and some patients with chronic pain may believe that only opioids will help them. According to Kelly Weselman, MD, the best way to begin managing pain is to determine its root cause and communicate with the patient about the best approach(es) for decreasing their specific pain…
(Reuters Health)—Prescriptions for nerve pain medicines like Neurontin and Lyrica have more than tripled in recent years, driven by increased use among chronically ill older adults and patients already taking opioids, a U.S. study suggests. The proportion of U.S. adults prescribed Neurontin and other drugs in the same family of medicines climbed from 1.2% in…