On Feb. 3, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) revised its Letters of Authorization for two emergency use authorizations (EUAs), Paxlovid and Lagevrio, to remove the requirement for positive test results to prescribe these drugs. The agency continues to recommend that providers use direct SARS-CoV-2 viral testing to help diagnose COVID-19. The FDA recognizes…
What We Know about COVID-19 in 2023: Variants, Vaccines, New Therapies & More
Although a less central focus than it was three years ago, rheumatologists must still consider the prevention and management of SARS-CoV-2 in their patients. The following update shares ongoing considerations related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Outcomes At the beginning of the pandemic, it was unclear whether patients with rheumatic disease would be at higher risk…
Long COVID: Experts Weigh in on Increasingly Common Syndrome
A minority of patients experience lingering symptoms after infection with SARS-CoV-2, similar to some other previously known post-infection syndromes. Although we are just beginning to understand the different presentations, pathophysiology, risk factors, prognosis and treatment of long COVID, rheumatologists can play a leadership role in managing patients with the illness and contributing to this important research…
COVID-19 Vaccination in Patients with Rheumatic Disease
In January A&R, Simon et al. report a study to assess humoral and cellular immune responses after infection with, or vaccination against, SARS-CoV-2 in patients with B cell depletion and controls who are B cell competent, finding that B cell depletion completely blocks humoral but not T cell SARS-CoV-2 vaccination response. In the same issue, Connolly et al. evaluated disease flare and post-vaccination reactions in patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases following messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccination.
International Study Finds Colchicine Promising as Outpatient Treatment for COVID-19
One of the oldest treatment options in rheumatology, colchicine, may be an effective and inexpensive treatment to prevent complications in non-hospitalized patients with COVID-19, particularly in men, according to the results of large global study.
Patients with Rheumatic Disease May Experience Flares after SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination
(Reuters Health)—Among a group of New York patients with rheumatic diseases who received a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, nearly one in six experienced disease flares after getting their shots, a new study finds.1 A survey of more than 1,100 patients who had received at least one vaccine dose revealed that 14.9% experienced flares. Among the 654 who…