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…
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has the potential to fundamentally shift the treatment of autoimmune disease. During his presentation at EULAR 2024, Georg Schett, MD, provided an overview of this treatment process and described the promising findings of the latest research.
Howard Schubiner, MD, shares what led him to focus on the mind-body connection during an episode of the ACR on Air podcast. He discusses recent research into how pain reprocessing may help patients suffering from psychological-related chronic pain.
Government Affairs Committee member Donald Miller, PharmD, reflects on the effects of rheumatology advocacy work over time, noting that progress is often easier to see from the distance.
“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…
“As a resident, [I] felt pretty terrible when [we had] a very sick child and the teams [couldn’t] agree on what to do,” said Lauren Henderson, MD, MMS, on an episode of ACR on Air. She discussed the importance of collaboration across specialties in the identification and treatment of macrophage activation syndrome (MAS).
Don’t reinvent the wheel. The ACR Committee on Rheumatologic Care offers members an updated slate of template letters to help appeal insurance denials for common off-label rheumatology treatments.
Implicit bias can affect patient care at the physician level when they’re making treatment decisions and at the healthcare organization level when they’re choosing new hires. Here are insights into strategies rheumatologists can use to become aware of, and question, their implicit biases.
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, confusion and concern for immunosuppressed patients grew among rheumatologists and patients alike. Research has helped bridge the knowledge gap, and treatment options for COVID-19 have helped ease concerns.
Throughout her medical training, Noelle A. Rolle, MBBS, encountered many patients struggling with both rheumatic disease and issues of health equity and access to care. This drew her to rheumatology and, now, to lead the ACR’s Collaborative Initiatives Committee.