Avoiding real and apparent conflicts of interest is a fundamental principle of guideline development, but what should we do when every thought leader is conflicted? An example of this conundrum in rheumatology has been the ACR’s ongoing effort to establish guidelines for the management of lupus nephritis, which has been stymied by the fact that…
Rheumatologists are often called upon to see patients with unexplained symptoms and mysterious illnesses and to manage disease, sometimes with a dearth of evidence. Patients in rheumatology practices also tend to explore treatment modalities outside of the established medical model, sometimes referred to as fringe medicine. Complementary and alternative medicine practices that comprise fringe medicine…
PHILADELPHIA—Expert panelists gathered in the closing session at ACR Convergence 2022 to give their take on what they saw as some of the most notable research findings and other insights to come out of the meeting, touching on a number of topics on the leading edge of the field. COVID-19 Prophylaxis & Vaccinations Alfred Kim,…
Admittedly, there’s not much to see on a country road 100 miles southwest of Iowa City, Iowa. It’s especially true in winter, when a blanket of white snow obscures any and all features of the seemingly endless fields of corn and soy. In the radiance of fresh snow on a bright winter day, even the…
The ACR highlights essential policy and reporting changes to the Quality Payment Program for performance year 2023 and beyond. Key changes include policies regarding the development of new MIPS Value Pathways and refinement of subgroup participation.
In this large, population-based study, Xie et al. found that the risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection, 30-day hospitalization and 30-day death were higher among individuals with gout than individuals without gout in the general population, irrespective of COVID-19 vaccination status.
PHILADELPHIA—Patients with rheumatic diseases often mount an adequate immune response after receiving COVID-19 vaccinations, but that is not always the case, and certain medications make patients more prone to having an insufficient response, said Judith James, MD, PhD, chair, Arthritis and Clinical Immunology Research Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, at an ACR Convergence…
Are you happy? This may be a question born of the pandemic. Pre-pandemic, I used to quote William Osler, MD, who simultaneously founded the Department of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and created the modern system of medical education. He opined: The practice of medicine will be very much as you make it—to one,…
PHILADELPHIA—Since March 2020, the world has been turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic. Rheumatologists must understand how to best protect and treat their patients with autoimmune conditions at risk for infection due to immunosuppressive therapy. At ACR Convergence 2022, the session titled, Latest COVID and Rheumatic Disease Therapies: What You Need to Know, provided…
An ACR Convergence 2022 session provided practical updates on ways to best protect pediatric & adult patients with rheumatic disease from COVID-19.