Sir William Osler, widely regarded as one of the greatest physicians of the 20th century, once said, “He who studies medicine without books sails an uncharted sea, but he who studies medicine without patients does not go to sea at all.”1 This sentiment is particularly true in the field of rheumatology, in which understanding the…
Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) often experience joint pain due to various etiologies, including crystalline arthropathies, renal osteodystrophy, amyloid arthropathy, erosive osteoarthritis, avascular necrosis and even erosive spondylarthrosis.1 Below, we present a case of crystalline arthropathy in a patient with chronic kidney disease, mistaken for gout. The Case A 29-year-old man was admitted to…
A 68-year-old patient reports that her eyes have been itchy and red for approximately one month. She was treated with erythromycin gel on Jan. 10; while the itching did not stop, the redness resolved. She denies any matting and has not used any other type of eye drops. She states there has been no change…
Adding certolizumab pegol to background medication is better than adding a placebo for patients with active nonradiographic axial spondyloarthritis, according to a new study…
Monosodium urate (MSU) crystal deposition commonly occurs within the distal appendicular skeleton. The peripheral nature of gout is a hallmark feature described in the ACR and the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) clinical practice guidelines.1 In this article, we report a rare presentation of a common disease: a case of axial gouty arthropathy masquerading as…
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….
A group led by Sarah Ringold, MD, MS, assistant professor of rheumatology at Seattle Children’s Hospital, has developed a new guideline intended to provide recommendations for the treatment and monitoring of children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) manifesting as non-systemic polyarthritis, sacroiliitis or enthesitis.1,2 Key Updates The new recommendations appear in both Arthritis & Rheumatology…
On Feb. 9, 2019, protesters gathered at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City to lead a march down Fifth Avenue to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.1 As a general rule, news from the world of art is not a topic discussed in these pages, but if you indulge me for just a little bit…
A 60-year-old man returns for a follow-up related to his diagnoses of rheumatoid arthritis and chronic gout of his right ankle and foot, without tophi. He reports the gout flares have subsided in his ankle. He takes 450 mg of allopurinol daily. He has rheumatoid factor-positive rheumatoid arthritis, which previously affected multiple sites, without organ…
According to the FDA, an ongoing safety trial found higher dose tofacitinib increased the risks of pulmonary embolism and death in RA patients…