Despite our best efforts and modern interventions, we still have patients in the intensive care unit with organ failure. Although renal failure can be mitigated by dialysis, patients with cardiac or respiratory failure secondary to active autoimmune disease raise difficult clinical and ethical issues. Two recent cases, both with organ failure, led us to examine…
SAN DIEGO—To manage patients with systemic lupus erythematous (SLE), rheumatologists must be aware of potentially serious complications affecting many organ systems. On Nov. 7 at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, two experts offered insights on cardiovascular and hematological complications of lupus. Myocardial Disease in Lupus Lupus patients are at increased risk for heart-related complications, especially…
SAN DIEGO—The Next Accreditation System, the newest process for evaluating medical residency and fellowship programs and their participants, including future rheumatologists, was implemented in 2014 by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The system introduced specialty-specific milestones designed to reflect significant points in professional development. Milestones are defined by ACGME as a rubric…
SAN DIEGO—Since the identification of the autoinflammatory disease, familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), researchers have identified an alphabet soup of other autoinflammatory diseases with genetic underpinnings, from PAPA (pyogenic arthritis with pyoderma gangrenosum and acne) to NIAID (NLRP1-associated autoinflammation with arthritis and dyskeratosis) to TRAPS (TNF receptor-associated periodic syndrome). The torrent of discoveries, brought about largely…
From working a temp job in the shipping department to organizing teacher training, maintaining an antebellum mansion and learning the ins and outs of professional medical practice, David Haag has had a career in membership societies that has been anything but boring. And as of this March, he finds himself in pursuit of his next…
In November 2017, I went to Lucknow, India, where I would spend my time as an exchange fellow at the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPIMS) as part of the ACR International Visiting Fellows Exchange Program. Where I Come From I completed my medical degree at Mahatma Gandhi Missions Medical College, Navi Mumbai…
The ARHP is pleased to announce the relaunch of its highly successful online Fundamentals of Rheumatology Course (FRC). This updated version is earning high marks from users and reviewers for ease of navigation, choice of presentation formats, depth of research and separate learning activities (i.e., modules) for the care of adult and pediatric patients. According…
As the demand for rheumatology services increases, many rheumatologists struggle to maintain an academic research career. The absence of mentoring is often reported as a barrier to a career in research. To address this concern, researchers assessed the current state or mentorship in adult rheumatology, identifying what facilitates a successful mentor-mentee relationship for early career investigators to develop the framework for an interinstitutional mentoring program…
New research highlights the current geographic areas of Ontario, Canada, associated with Lyme disease and the presence of Ixodes scapularis. The study found the ticks are expanding their range at a rate of 46–55 km/year, with several sites showing the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme disease. These findings may help target public health interventions in the areas at greatest risk…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Using tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors in children is not significantly associated with cancer risk, according to a new study. “TNF inhibitors are remarkably effective for the treatment of many autoimmune conditions, but physicians worry that they cause cancer,” Dr. Timothy Beukelman from the University of Alabama in Birmingham told Reuters Health…