According to a recent cohort study, patients with inflammatory rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases receiving rituximab therapy experience more severe COVID-19. Researchers also found an association between rituximab use and prolonged hospital stays.
An ACR COVID-19 Vaccine task force examined vaccine data and literature to evaluate COVID-19 vaccine safety, efficacy and interaction with medications for patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases, and to craft a living guidance document for members.
Tailor your use of PAs to their strengths in noninflammatory musculoskeletal disease, managing stable patients, performing procedures, and routine new patient consultations
This comprehensive study is being conducted to determine benchmarks for rheumatology in an era of increased numbers of uninsured and underinsured patients in the general population, increased chronic and musculoskeletal diseases, and an expanding population of aging citizens.
The ACR Research and Education Foundation (REF) has been working with the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases (NIAMS) to lead discussions about how to best develop the careers of physician-scientists involved in rheumatic disease research.
The ACR works to promote clinical and basic research in arthritis and musculoskeletal disease through a variety of channels, including advocacy, working directly with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and through the work of the ACR Research and Education Foundation.
For many years, the ACR board of directors and Government Affairs Committee have done exemplary work in keeping members abreast of legislative regulatory issues that affect all aspects of rheumatology, including patient and physician/healthcare professional issues, education, and research. Through advocacy, the ACR advances rheumatology and fosters excellence in the care of people with, or at risk for, arthritis and rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. One might say that advocacy is a cornerstone of this organization.
‘Patients with rheumatologic diseases are rightfully concerned about the risk of flares after getting their COVID vaccines, especially after holding immune modulators,’ says says Physician Editor Bharat Kumar, MD, MME, FACP, FAAAAI, RhMSUS. ‘A new study is reassuring that flares are rare, even after holding or discontinuing immune modulators.’ The development of a vaccine for…
The development of a vaccine for COVID-19 changed the course of the pandemic; however, it also raised questions about whether to withhold or reduce immunosuppressive therapies and other medications for patients with inflammatory, rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease (IRMD), note the authors of a new study published in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. An argument for…
‘Cannabis has a long history of being used for pain management,’ says Physician Editor Bharat Kumar, MD, MME, FACP, FAAAAI, RhMSUS. ‘What does it mean for rheumatology patients moving forward? Read our article for one answer to this question.’ As cannabis becomes more widely legalized, both in the U.S. and internationally, its use for pain…