Editor’s note: The new Pillar Talk column is developed by the ARHP Executive Committee in an effort to share information about ongoing activities related to our four pillars: Education, Practice, Research and Advocacy. The ARHP Research Subcommittee is committed to promoting research and enhancing research opportunities for health professionals and researchers working in rheumatology. A…
Systemic sclerosis (SSc), a subtype of scleroderma, is a rare, complex autoimmune disease characterized by widespread vasculopathy of the small arteries and fibroblast dysfunction.1,2 It has been described as a fibrosing microvascular disease, because vascular injury precedes and leads to tissue fibrosis.3 The resulting Raynaud’s phenomenon, pain, skin thickening and tightening, and multi-organ involvement have…
(Reuters)—Washington state on Thursday sued OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP, becoming the latest state or local government to file a lawsuit seeking to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for a national opioid addiction epidemic. The city of Seattle also filed a separate lawsuit against Purdue as well as units of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Johnson and…
Treat-to-target is a widely used approach for rheumatoid arthritis, in which rheumatologists prescribe treatments to reach established benchmarks of disease activity.1 Is it time for a similar approach for fibromyalgia treatment, even though its pathogenesis, disease-activity measures and treatment algorithms are less well understood? Three fibromyalgia researchers present their case in a new paper, “Treat-to-Target…
A new review examined how drug-free interventions affect pain relief and analgesic consumption for patients who have had knee surgery. Although little evidence shows these treatments reduce actual pain, electrotherapy and acupuncture may help patients delay their postoperative use of opioids…
Editor’s note: The new Pillar Talk column is developed by the ARHP Executive Committee in an effort to share information about ongoing activities related to our four pillars: Education, Practice, Research and Advocacy. ARHP volunteers are actively involved in the ACR’s efforts to advocate for the care of our patients and the rheumatology professionals who…
Nationally, opioid use and addiction are drawing increased scrutiny. An increase in the number of overdoses and addiction to heroin and prescription pain relievers in the past decade has been attributed in part to increased prescribing of opioids for the treatment of pain by physicians. National trends suggest the rate of opioid prescribing plateaued in…
Editor’s note: The new Pillar Talk column is developed by the ARHP Executive Committee in an effort to share information about ongoing activities related to our four pillars: Education, Practice, Research and Advocacy. The ARHP Practice Committee is committed to addressing the current needs and evolving practice opportunities for health professionals working in rheumatology. A…
(Reuters Health)—More than two-thirds of surgery patients in a recent study had prescription opioids left over after they recovered from their operations, and the vast majority failed to safely store or dispose of the often misused and abused pills, researchers say. “Unused opioids that have been prescribed for pain after surgery serve as an important…
First Appearances I watched the old man, his back painfully bent, shuffle toward the scale. A blocky rigidity draped over him. His feet seemed stuck to the floor. His head hung heavily over his chest. Observing him from the end of the hallway, instead of a face, I saw only a mound of shaggy, matted…