Telling an employee that they need to improve does not conjure up warm, fuzzy feelings. In fact, many employers dread it and may get gun shy. After all, an employee could take it the wrong way, and the constructive criticism could be ill received. “This is a legitimate fear, because many people have given constructive…
Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a condition characterized by widespread pain, abnormal pain processing, sleep disturbance and fatigue. It is commonly associated with psychological distress and co-morbid conditions. Impaired cognition is common in individuals with FMS, and is often referred to as fibrofog.1 According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the prevalence of…
Methotrexate has long been a cornerstone of therapy in rheumatoid arthritis. Two new, injectable methotrexate products may help some RA patients for whom oral methotrexate is not as effective or causes adverse effects. Rasuvo and Otrexup are prefilled, auto-injection devices that allow patients to give themselves subcutaneous injections of methotrexate without having to use a…
Prior to the widespread use of bisphosphonates for the management of osteoporosis, multiple myeloma and metastatic cancer to the skeletal system, osteonecrosis of the jawbones was an infrequent condition seen after radiation for oral cancers (osteoradionecrosis) and in chronic odontogenic infections.1 Since the mid-2000s, osteonecrosis of the jawbones has been noted to occur as a…
A 35-year-old female with a history of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) without kidney involvement was admitted to our hospital with low-grade fevers, headache, increasing lower extremity edema and elevated blood pressure. History She was first diagnosed with SLE as a teenager when she developed oral ulcers and pleuritic chest pain and tested positive for anti-Smith…
“Love is the bone and sinew of my curse.” —Sylvia Plath Cutting the Cord Here’s the problem: No one grows up wanting to seek the cure for bursitis—or tendonitis or just about any of the other seemingly mundane maladies afflicting our body’s scaffolding. Meniscal tears, fasciitis, tendinopathies—the list is endless. Chances are, your college essay…
Summer is a season for travel, so if your immunocompromised patients plan to journey to regions where there are outbreaks of infections, such as chikungunya, tuberculosis, typhoid, yellow fever or other diseases, communication and preparation may prevent serious health events. “The world teems with disease-causing organisms, and almost every infection is more serious in the…
If Stephen Soloway, MD, FACP, FACR, CCD, wants to thank someone for his impressive baseball card collection, he may want to start with his mother. Recalling her taking him for baseball cards regularly, he went on to become the rare owner of every set of famed Topps, not to mention a few individual cards with…
Antibody-like molecules that can bind to more than one target—with the goal of having a more powerful effect than if those targets were treated separately in a combination of therapies—could become part of treatment regimens in rheumatic diseases over the next several years, an expert said here in a session at EULAR 2015, the annual…
ROME, Italy—In what researchers say is the first study evaluating cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) findings in early rheumatoid arthritis (ERA) patients, cardiovascular abnormalities were significantly worse in patients with ERA than in matched, healthy controls. The study results were presented at EULAR 2015, the annual congress of the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR). Cardiovascular Concerns…