Note: Updated May 2, 2018, to correct a link in the reference section. The error was introduced in editing. A 44-year-old Caucasian woman presented to the outpatient rheumatology clinic that had followed her for several years for rheumatoid arthritis. She was compliant with her regimen of hydroxychloroquine, etanercept and salsalate. Her chief complaint was worsening…
New research examined the link between a reduction in serum uric acid (SUA) levels and the reduced risk of renal function decline in patients with gout. The findings suggest that aggressive serum acid-lowering approaches may be helpful in slowing the progression of renal disease…
(Reuters Health)—Some adults in the U.S. who use supplements to get their daily requirement of calcium are taking higher doses than necessary, a recent study suggests. Researchers examined nationally representative survey data on dietary habits and vitamin and supplement use collected between 1999 and 2014 from 42,038 adults. About one in 20 adults got a…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—After discontinuation of teriparatide, increases in bone mineral density (BMD) are greater with denosumab than with zoledronic acid, but whether that translates into a decreased fragility fracture risk remains unknown, researchers say. Teriparatide was the first anabolic treatment approved for osteoporosis in the U.S. It has been shown to increase BMD, and…
A recent study found that dermatology patients taking long-term steroids are not always evaluated for steroid-induced osteoporosis…
Two Phase 3 clinical trials show that risankizumab is effective for achieving skin clearance in patients with psoriasis…
On Nov. 4, a 55-year-old female patient presents to the office for a follow-up visit for injection of the left knee for osteoarthritis. This is her third of three injections that were preauthorized through Oct. 31. She reports pain and swelling in her left knee and rates the pain at an 8 on a 10-point…
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—In a presentation on what rheumatology nurses should know in their daily practice about disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting Nov. 3–8, Jessica Farrell, PharmD, highlighted the importance of educating and counseling patients about the range of treatments and applications for rheumatologic conditions. Dr. Farrell, a clinical pharmacist at the…
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…