A systematic review has found that anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha treatment may improve endothelial function in RA patients. Despite the heterogeneity of the included studies, a random-effects model showed a significant improvement in endothelial function in this patient population after receiving infliximab, adalimumab or etanercept…
The AMA House of Delegates (HOD) met in Chicago for its annual meeting June 9–14. More than 530 HOD members were present, with several hundred AMA and association staff and guests. As I am sure you have noted from past issues of ACR@Work, the ACR is in its five-year membership review. The ACR must be…
CHICAGO—Doruk Erkan, MD, MPH, a rheumatologist at the Hospital for Special Surgery and Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, described recent developments in the field of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) to the rheumatologists gathered for the ACR’s State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium in April. He introduced APS as a “field with limited data and lots of controversies,” although,…
For a rheumatology practice, rooming time can be leveraged to improve efficiency and patient care. Christie Bartels, MD, MS, and colleagues have studied this time frame and developed data-based tips and tools to decrease variation among staff and streamline practices…
Rheumatologists treating HIV patients in 2017 must think through many important factors as this population ages. As we continue to learn, rheumatologists must consider important drug–drug interactions, relatively uncommon rheumatological presentations of HIV, as well as specific diagnostic challenges. Working closely with infectious disease specialists is the best way to achieve optimum care for this…
Although systemic lupus erythematosus still does not have a definite cause or cure, rheumatologists and researchers over the past 50 years have witnessed and contributed to a great deal of progress that helps patients, says Peter H. Schur, MD, director emeritus of the Lupus Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and professor, Harvard Medical School, Boston. Dr. Schur’s…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Conference goers who braved the final day of the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting were awarded for their stamina by learning about issues relating to the damage caused by systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) during the session Systemic Lupus Erythematosus—Clinical Aspects and Treatment V: Damage and Morbidity. Minimizing Damage: Early Use of GC-Sparing Strategies Jayne Little,…
Recent research analyzed factors influencing the selection of the first-line biologic medications and the real-life factors that lead to switching from those medications to other biologics in treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The study compared the use of abatacept and tocilizumab with a tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitor (TNFi).1,2 Participants were enrolled in the Lombardy Rheumatology…
In patients with RA, age and higher rates of comorbidity are influential in selecting and changing treatments…
WASHINGTON, D.C.—What do treating hand osteoarthritis (OA) in the primary care setting, high financial strain and risk of depression in patients with lupus, prolonged sitting and cardiovascular disease, and sex-specific treatment after total hip arthroplasty have in common? They were all topics presented during a session titled ARHP I: Exemplary Abstracts at the 2016 ACR/ARHP…