HLA-B27 may be a phenotypic expression of axial spondyloarthritis (SpA), according to a large international study. The study found patients with axial SpA who were positive for HLA-B27 had more severe radiographic damage than those who were negative for HLA-B27, and three quarters of study patients with ankylosis spondyloarthritis were HLA-B27 positive.
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.
The growing rheumatologist workforce shortage has loomed over the profession, threatening to undercut the delivery of care to the increasing number of patients with rheumatic conditions. “The workforce shortage is an existential threat to the field of rheumatology and to the care we deliver to our patients,” says ACR President Kenneth Saag, MD, who lauded…
After months of hard work—and with insightful input from many ACR/ARP members, staff, committees and the Board of Directors—we are pleased to introduce the ACR’s 2022–27 strategic plan. This plan sets the stage for our numerous activities in the next few years and cultivates innovational approaches to support our diverse membership. This new plan will…
During the peak of the coronavirus pandemic in Washington, D.C., we were asked to evaluate a 14-year-old boy admitted to the pediatric hospitalist service. He had been healthy until two weeks before, when he noted a sore throat, and soon after he developed fevers and rashes without congestion, shortness of breath, conjunctivitis or swollen lymph…
The meetings will focus on legislation affecting rheumatology, including bills on graduate medical education and use of copay assistance funds.
At a recent ACR town hall, four rheumatologists shared strategies that have helped them recruit new physicians amid a significant nationwide rheumatology workforce shortage.
Two new ACR Clinical Practice Guidelines provide recommendations on the pharmacologic management of JIA, focusing on treatment of oligoarthritis, temporomandibular arthritis & systemic JIA, as well as nonpharmacologic therapies, medication monitoring, immunizations & imaging.
A 26-year-old woman presented to our emergency department (ED) with intermittent fevers, nausea and vomiting. She had a past medical history of well-controlled, anti-nuclear antibody positive and rheumatoid factor negative polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (pJIA) and Crohn’s disease. Her maintenance treatment consisted of monthly intravenous infliximab, 10 mg of oral methotrexate weekly and 20 mg…
A 44-year-old woman presented to the emergency department with bifrontal headaches that had started approximately one month earlier. She was diagnosed with migraines and discharged home. Three days later, the patient returned to the emergency department upon recurrence of her headaches, and this time she also reported abnormal leg movements. A computerized tomography (CT) scan…