Shrinking lung syndrome (SLS) is a rare cause of dyspnea that has been most commonly described in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but is also found in systemic sclerosis, Sjögren’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Shrinking lung syndrome is characterized by a restrictive pattern on lung spirometry, despite normal lung parenchyma, and an elevated diaphragm.1…
A school science project demonstrates that flipbooks can be a useful educational tool for patients and their families to learn about rheumatic conditions and their treatment.
“I think we learn from medicine everywhere that it is, at its heart, a human endeavor, requiring good science but also a limitless curiosity and interest in your fellow human being, and that the physician-patient relationship is key; all else follows from it.”1 These profound words from Abraham Verghese, MD, MACP, Linda R. Meier…
June is always a bittersweet month, at least in academic medicine. We get to look forward to a new fresh set of faces coming into our training programs, but we also have to say goodbye to those once-fresh faces that have progressed through their medical education journeys. These transitions are never easy, neither for the…
Rheumatology fellow Audrey Liu, MD, describes the excitement and empowerment of seeing first-hand the real-world impact of advocating for policies that support providers and patients.
Adult-onset Still’s disease (AOSD) is a systemic autoinflammatory disorder characterized by persistent fever at regular intervals, arthralgias or arthritis, rash, sore throat and neutrophilic leukocytosis.1,2 Significant elevation in ferritin levels is characteristic and tends to correlate with disease activity. Additional clinical features may include myalgias, lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, serositis, myocarditis, abnormal liver function tests and development…
About 30 years ago, early in his career as a rheumatologist, Dirkjan van Schaardenburg, PhD, says patients with osteoarthritis experienced terrible problems with inflammation. The landscape has improved to the point that “people can live with it now,” he says. But they still need help. For example, osteoarthritis affects 7% of the global population, according…
Pachydermoperiostosis (PDP), also known as Touraine-Solente-Golé syndrome or primary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy, is a rare syndrome that can be inherited as autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, or sporadically. This progressive disease primarily affects males, who tend to have more severe features than females. PDP usually occurs during adolescence, often starting around puberty.1 The main clinical features are…
Rheumatologist Rachelle Buchbinder, AO, MBBS (Hons), MSc, PhD, discusses reducing overdiagnosis, overtreatment, low-value care and waste in medicine.
Pain management can involve more than active pharmacologic treatment. During a session at ACR Convergence 2023, experts addressed the benefits of patient self-management for pain, how it works with clinical care and the role of technology.