In Canada, five provinces will now reimburse patients with plaque psoriasis who use risankizumab. Also, Canada Health has approved apremilast for treating adults with plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis…
Interstitial lung disease accompanied by anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 positive dermatomyositis is often rapidly progressive and associated with poor prognosis. In this study, a combined immunosuppressive regimen of high-dose glucocorticoids, tacrolimus and intravenous cyclophosphamide proved more effective than treatment with high-dose glucocorticoids and stepwise addition of an immunosuppressant in a historical control group.
Scenario 1: Direct Billing A 70-year-old female patient with rheumatoid arthritis in multiple joints and positive rheumatoid factor returns to the practice for her fourth infusion of infliximab with the nurse practitioner (NP). She reports no fevers, cough, dyspnea or concurrent illness. She rates the severity of her joint pain at 6 on a 10-point…
As a veteran rheumatologist, I remember the clinical trials of etanercept’s (Enbrel’s) efficacy. And when the drug was first approved in 1998, I participated in those clinical trials and realized the effectiveness was astonishing. It was easy to tell which patients were treated with etanercept vs. those who received placebo, even though both groups were…
The ACR Insurance Subcommittee is working to address specialty pharmacy requirements for in-office treatments, elimination of consultation codes and other coverage and reimbursement challenges.
Any given rheumatology patient who needs a biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) will spend $22,000–44,000 on their medication each year…
ATLANTA—Managing teenage patients may present challenges for pediatric rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals not only because of their often complex, rare conditions, but because teenagers are, well, teenagers. Teens may experiment with sexual intercourse, alcohol use, tobacco or vaping e-cigarettes to fit in with their peers, even if these habits have serious health consequences, according to…
Julia Jing-ou Tan, MD, Mohammad Bardi, MD, & Natasha Dehghan, MD |
A 42-year-old man with a history of ulcerative colitis (UC), primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and chronic sinusitis was referred to a rheumatologist to evaluate for a possible diagnosis of systemic vasculitis. This patient had developed new skin lesions, gingival hypertrophy and ulcerating tracheobronchitis, concerning for possible granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA). Since 1994, the patient had…
In a systematic literature review, researchers found that rheumatoid arthritis patients taking etanercept were less likely to discontinue their treatment than patients using any of five other tumor necrosis factor inhibitors…