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Search results for: Primary care

According to MRI, Ultrasound Guidance Does Not Improve Treat-to-Target in RA

Reuters Staff  |  

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Ultrasound guidance does not improve the effectiveness of treat-to-target therapy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), new findings confirm. “Incorporating ultrasound information in treatment decisions did not lead to reduced MRI inflammation or less structural damage compared with a conventional treatment strategy,” Dr. Ulf Sundin of Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, and colleagues write in Rheumatology….

What Should Providers Do to Address Polypharmacy?

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ATLANTA—In a session at the 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting, Susan Chrostowski, DNP, assistant clinical professor at Texas Woman’s University College of Nursing, Dallas, told the audience that she’d had a visit with a patient and asked how he was doing. “Not too good,” he said, explaining that his chest hurt. “What’s the matter with your…

Case Report: Obliterative Bronchiolitis in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Robin Paudel, MD, Prerna Dogra, MD, & Richard S. Morehead, MD  |  

A 59-year-old woman with rheuma­toid arthritis (RA) presented to our pulmonary clinic for progressively worsening dyspnea of five years’ duration. She described progressively worsening dyspnea after a few minutes of walking on level ground. In addition, she noted worsening pain and morning stiffness of the wrists, knees and metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints, with subcutaneous nodules. She…

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Sjögren’s Syndrome in Kids: Diagnostic Challenges & Treatment Options

Sara M. Stern, MD, Matthew L. Basiaga, DO, MSCE, & Scott M. Lieberman, MD, PhD  |  

A 14-year-old girl is referred to your office for fatigue and arthralgias. While you’re obtaining her past medical history, she divulges that she has had four episodes of bilateral parotitis, each lasting two weeks. An otolaryngologist evaluated her. She lacked sicca symptoms, had a normal complete blood count (CBC), normal inflammatory markers and a negative…

Case Report: Possible Overlapping Vasculitis & Ulcerative Colitis

Julia Jing-ou Tan, MD, Mohammad Bardi, MD, & Natasha Dehghan, MD  |  

A 42-year-old man with a history of ulcerative colitis (UC), primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and chronic sinusitis was referred to a rheumatologist to evaluate for a possible diagnosis of systemic vasculitis. This patient had developed new skin lesions, gingival hypertrophy and ulcerating tracheobronchitis, concerning for possible granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA). Since 1994, the patient had…

PAD4 Antibodies May Help Predict Treatment Response in Rheumatoid Arthritis

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A study published in Arthritis & Rheumatology highlights how the presence of autoantibodies to peptidylarginine deiminase (PAD) may eventually be used to influence treatment decisions in the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), sharpening our understanding of disease subtypes.1 Although follow-up prospective studies are needed, these findings underline some intriguing areas for future investigations in immunobiology….

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Myositis-Specific Antibodies Identified

Mithu Maheswaranathan, MD, & Lisa Criscione-Schreiber, MD, MEd  |  

The idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) encompass eight categories: 1) dermatomyositis (DM) in adults, 2) juvenile dermatomyositis, 3) amyopathic DM, 4) cancer-associated DM, 5) polymyositis, 6) immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy, 7) inclusion body myositis, and 8) overlap myositis.1 These categories help classify the myopathies based on clinical and histologic features. The incidence of IIM is estimated at…