The new EULAR/ACR classification criteria for SLE offer improved sensitivity and specificity, as well as more accurately reflect the current tests used to clinically diagnose SLE. A positive ANA test is obligatory…

The new EULAR/ACR classification criteria for SLE offer improved sensitivity and specificity, as well as more accurately reflect the current tests used to clinically diagnose SLE. A positive ANA test is obligatory…
New research seeking to describe the characteristics of undefined, systemic autoinflammatory diseases may have identified distinct subgroups, including pericarditis and intellectual impairment…
Adria Madera-Acosta, MD, Teresa Sosenko, MD, & Diana Girnita, MD, PhD |
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…
Larry Beresford |
The traditional model for subspecialist consultations on hospitalized patients by outpatient-based rheumatologists may seem straightforward. Hospitalists (the inpatient specialists who now manage most in-hospital medical care in the majority of U.S. hospitals) typically call upon the rheumatologist’s expertise for joint swelling and a rash or fever of unknown origin, says Lianne Gensler, MD, of the…
Stephanie Kydd Dondero, DO, & Barry Waters, MD |
Apremilast was first marketed in March 2014 for the treatment of adults with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). An immunoÂmodulating drug, which is a small molecule inhibitor of phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) specific for cyclic adenosine monoÂphosphate (cAMP), apremilast is administered orally. By inhibiting PDE4, intracellular cAMP levels are increased. Although the exact mechanism of action is not…
Dan Reynolds, the lead singer of the Grammy award-winning band Imagine Dragons, has partnered with Novartis to increase awareness of ankylosing spondylitis.
Naveen Raj, DO, & Lisa Duncan, MD |
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…
Tej Bhavsar, MD, & Nancy Joste, MD |
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…
Recent research into rituximab-induced serum sickness (RISS) reinforces the understanding that patients generally recover quickly. However, the study also found patients with autoimmune disease, especially SLE, had a significantly higher risk for developing RISS than patients using rituximab to treat hematological malignancy…