A patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) asks if diet can help ease their symptoms. Or maybe a patient with severe knee osteoarthritis (OA) seeks diet advice because they want to lose weight and relieve pressure on their joints. Although there’s no specific nutrition plan for patients with rheumatic diseases, research has shown many dietary factors…
People with or at risk for symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA) may be assigned to four depression subtypes with distinct clusters of depressive symptoms that may affect pain and disability over time, according to a new study in Arthritis Care & Research.1 Four depression subtypes were identified in the study using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies…
Scleroderma renal crisis (SRC) is a life-threatening complication of systemic sclerosis. SRC occurs in 2–15% of patients with diffuse sclerosis and usually within the first five years from the time of diagnosis. Risk factors for SRC include, but are not limited to, early diagnosis, corticosteroid or cyclosporine use, and the presence of anti-RNA polymerase III…
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic autoimmune inflammatory disease. Although RA develops its central pathology within the synovium of diarthrodial joints, many non-articular organs can be involved, particularly in patients with severe joint disease.1 Although most patients are asymptomatic, cardiac involvement is relatively common and includes rheumatic heart nodules, pericarditis (30–50%), pericardial effusion and…
Three clinical experts on gout offer their insights into common management errors, clinical pearls, new safety data from the FDA and the role of biologic therapies in the management of gout.
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…
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) associated polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is an increasingly rare vasculitis in developed countries due to advances in HBV vaccination and antiviral therapy. However, the condition does persist, and rheumatologists should consider it when evaluating vasculitis cases. Below, we discuss a case that illustrates the varied clinical presentations PAN can encompass. A high…
A 54-year-old African American man arrived at the emergency department with the acute onset of a tender mass on the left side of his neck. It had been getting progressively larger for the preceding two days. History & Examination His history included chronic right hip osteoarthritis with two surgeries performed five years prior. At his…
When evaluating patients with possible myopathic symptoms, rheumatologists must consider a rare, but important, group of inherited disorders: the metabolic myopathies. However, their diagnosis often remains a challenge. Early recognition of these primary metabolic myopathies is essential to help prevent disease morbidity and mortality from rhabdomyolysis. Here, we focus on the metabolic myopathies that present…
A 2019 update of the ACR’s previous clinical practice guideline on axial spondyloarthritis is now available online. Lead investigator Michael Ward, MD, shares advice for implementing the guideline updates, including those related to sequencing and tapering biologics, and knowing when to obtain images.