When my daughter was a second-year internal medicine resident at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, she called me excitedly one evening. “Dad,” she reported, “I think I saw the optic nerve for the first time today with an ophthalmoscope.” I suppose I should have shared her exuberance, except that when I went to medical school, a…
Abscesses are typically caused by infections, but some are, instead, sterile. Aseptic abscesses (AAs) are characterized by the same neutrophil-rich histoÂpathology as infectious abscesses; however, they don’t improve with antibiotics. Rather, AAs require treatment with anti-inflammatory medications. Although relatively rare, this phenomenon is important for rheumatologists to recognize given its frequent association with underÂlying systemic…
Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) is an anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis typically characterized by asthma, peripheral eosinophilia and medium- to small-vessel necrotizing vasculitis. Cutaneous manifesÂtations in EGPA are diverse. Palpable purpura is the most common presentation, but urticaria, erythematous macules and papules, livedo reticularis, digital necrosis and cutaneous nodules have also been described.1 Non-hemorrhagic bullae…
I wouldn’t normally look to professional basketball as a model for healthcare, but sometimes answers come from unexpected places. The observation that elite athletes are not like you and me—medically speaking—is not new. In the second century AD, the pontifex maximus in Pergamum recognized this fact and appointed Claudius Galen physician to the gladiators, making…
In a small preliminary study, the novel MK2 inhibitor, CC-99677, was safe and well tolerated by healthy participants. With daily dosing, the agent sustained reductions of tumor necrosis factor alpha and other cytokines for 14 days.
ACR and ARP members converged on Capitol Hill in May to urge lawmakers to support legislation related to workforce expansion and patient access to care following training sessions presented by ACR staff dedicated to legislative affairs.
In the E.U., secukinumab is edging closer to approval for use in pediatric patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), specifically those with enthesitis-related arthritis (ERA) and juvenile psoriatic arthritis (PsA). In May, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency issued a positive opinion on expanding its indications.
In its COVID-19 treatment guidelines, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) lists several drugs commonly prescribed for patients with rheumatic conditions as potential therapies in those who are hospitalized for COVID-19 and require high-flow oxygen, noninvasive ventilation, intermittent ventilation (IMV) or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), as of Aug. 25, 2021, and current as this is…
At my first Advocacy Leadership Conference as a member of the ACR’s Insurance Subcommittee, I discovered the power of stories from the clinic and how lawmakers value clinicians’ input on healthcare legislation.
The Washington Rheumatology Alliance is focused on creative ways to increase the rheumatology workforce to meet the demand for care, such as instituting clinical rotations in rheumatology for nurse practitioner programs and advocating for pediatric rheumatologist loan forgiveness.