Various drugs are known to cause musculoskeletal symptoms, such as arthralgias, myalgias, drug-induced lupus and serum sickness.1 In the rheumatology world, the most commonly recognized drugs that can cause musculoskeletal symptoms are hydralazine, minocycline, fluoroquinolones and, recently, the dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitor class of medications. Although beta blockers also have a noted side effect…
After reviewing a 10-year study, the FDA cautions that prescribing clarithromycin to patients with heart disease increases the risk of heart problems or death…
The demonstrated connection between persistent effusion-synovitis and cartilage damage in certain osteoarthritis (OA) patients has implications for targeted treatment that updates previous OA treatment parameters…
Greetings, Advocates! Great news for the rheumatology community came on Feb. 9, when the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 was enacted. It contains several critical healthcare fixes pertinent to rheumatology. First, after hundreds of emails, meetings, letters to the editor, an op-ed, and a forceful 109-member coalition (led by the ACR and including many state…
In clinical trials, secukinumab proved safe and effective as a long-term treatment for both palmoplantar and nail psoriasis…
Patient-centered care requires increased communication and a proactive patient. But how does it benefit a rheumatology practice? According to Stanford Shoor, MD, patient-centered care offers a team-based approach that can improve satisfaction in care and positively affect RA-specific outcomes…
SAN DIEGO—At the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting Nov. 3–8, experts discussed improving bone health in the U.S., gave tips on bone health disorders in pediatrics and reviewed new translational science findings for joint conservation in early osteonecrosis. E. Michael Lewiecki, MD, director of the New Mexico Clinical Research & Osteoporosis Center in Albuquerque, N.M., called…
SAN DIEGO—At the 2017 Thieves Market, held Nov. 6 at the ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, rheumatologists from around the world presented patient cases to an audience of colleagues, who then voted via text messaging to choose the cases they felt were most perplexing or intriguing. The winner received a free 2018 Annual Meeting registration, and the…
4 Patients in 4 Weeks Baltimore is a little over two hours away from Richmond, Va., by car. I know this now because I recently drove to Richmond to attend a memorial service. I drove in silence. Music made me sleepy, and I could not bear to listen to another iteration of how we are…
The year was 1991. It was my first Tuesday as a rheumatology fellow at the University of Pittsburgh’s Presbyterian Hospital. Navigating a maze of buildings and hallways, I delivered myself to the entrance to the scleroderma clinic. Running late and not knowing whether there was a separate entrance for staff, I clicked open the door….