IBD-Associated Arthritis News

Repeat, routine testing for latent tuberculosis infection among patients receiving biologics is both costly and of low clinical value, according to findings presented at the 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting.

Rheumatology patients treated with interleukin inhibitors have an increased risk for serious infections, opportunistic infections and cancer, according to data published in JAMA Open Network.

Rheumatologists are generally familiar with complicated case patients who require management across specialties. The same goes for gastroenterologists. But a little more communication never hurts. In this case, a closer look at patients with inflammatory bowel disease-associated arthritis — known commonly as enteropathic arthritis — may be beneficial.

Among patients with rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and psoriasis, the presence of hypertension or preeclampsia accounts for approximately 10% to 33% of the excess risk for preterm birth, caesarean delivery and small for gestational age, according to data published in Arthritis Care & Research.

Patients receiving Enbrel for inflammatory diseases other than inflammatory bowel disease have an increased risk for a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, according to study results.

Political activism is more accessible than ever thanks to the amplification offered by social media, and rheumatologists can use social media — particularly Twitter — to advocate for the profession and their patients, according to Angus Worthing, MD, private practice rheumatologist and chair of the Government Affairs Committee for the American College of Rheumatology.

Findings from a time-dependent analysis of comorbidities in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and healthy controls suggest that inflammatory bowel disease and type I diabetes may predispose individuals to RA, according to recent data presented at the EULAR Annual Congress.

Although rheumatologists overwhelmingly agree on the use of conventional synthetic DMARDs and biologic drugs for inflammatory arthritis in patients with planned pregnancies, there appears to be little consensus on when to suspend drugs and how to handle unplanned pregnancies, according to survey data in BMC Rheumatology.

Fear and anxiety related to their disease, in addition to infertility, may impact family sizes of women with inflammatory arthritis, according to data published in ACR Open Rheumatology.

In the ever-changing landscape of the United States health care system, rheumatologists need a voice. They need a voice in managing the complex web of drug pricing structures, a voice in developing clinical guidelines, and, on a fundamental level, a voice in simply communicating with all the players involved in running the day-to-day operations of a rheumatology practice.