Retroperitoneal fibrosis (RPF) is a rare condition characterized by aberrant fibroinflammatory tissue developing in the retroperitoneum. This disorder was initially called Ormond’s disease. RPF may be idiopathic or secondary to other conditions. Idiopathic RPF is a part of the disease spectrum of chronic periaortitis due to its typical periaortoiliac localization. Idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis is a…
Polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is a systemic necrotizing vasculitis that typically affects medium-sized muscular arteries. The clinical subsets of PAN are idiopathic, generalized, secondary hepatitis B virus (HBV) associated and cutaneous PAN. These clinical subsets are important because of their therapeutic implications. Virtually any organ system can be affected in generalized PAN, but this vasculitis tends…
The 1999 Institute of Medicine report To Err Is Human gave a sobering depiction of the magnitude and consequences of medical error.1 The report concluded that approximately 98,000 people die in hospitals annually due to preventable medical errors. Of all the errors detailed in this report, diagnostic errors have since been determined to be the…
A larger proportion of patients with gout had a therapeutic response at six months when treated with methotrexate and pegloticase than with pegloticase alone, according to results from the multi-center, open-label MIRROR (methotrexate to increase response rates in patients with uncontrolled gout receiving KRYSTEXXA) study, recently published in the Journal of Rheumatology.1 The MIRROR study…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—In patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) who are resistant to tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi), guselkumab was more effective than placebo in a phase 3b trial. “Guselkumab is a relatively new treatment and is the first drug in its class (IL-23 inhibitor) to gain approval for PsA,” Dr. Laura Coates of the…
ACR Convergence 2021—The Pediatric Rheumatology Year in Review began with a fascinating talk by Mara Becker, MD, MSCE, a professor of Pediatrics and vice chair of faculty at Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, N.C. Dr. Becker began by describing her search strategy to select high-yield clinical science publications in pediatric rheumatology from the past…
ACR Convergence 2021—On Nov. 5, Karen H. Costenbader, MD, MPH, professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, and director of the lupus program, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, gave a whirlwind review of the most important clinical rheumatology publications of the past year. Testing New Medications for Rheumatic Disease ADVOCATE Trial of Avacopan Dr. Costenbader first…
Dr. Pisetsky’s picks for the top research in lupus presented at ACR Convergence 2021.
It may not take a village, but when it comes to providing stellar care to rheumatology and musculoskeletal patients, it definitely takes a team. To ensure all rheumatology professionals are thoroughly prepared to serve their patients’ needs in a personalized manner, there is the ARP—the Association of Rheumatology Professionals. The ARP, the interprofessional division of…
Introduction The understanding and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has evolved dramatically in the past 20 years. As gains have been made in treating joint disease in RA, our understanding of the impact of extra-articular manifestations of RA, such as cardiac and lung disease—specifically interstitial lung disease (ILD)—has gradually increased. While rheumatologists increasingly appreciate the…