Infection News

In a survey of racial and ethnic minorities with rheumatic diseases in Alabama, the most common reasons cited for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy were fear of side effects and disease flare, according to data presented at ACR Convergence 2021.

Patients with long COVID can experience a constellation of debilitating neurological symptoms for months after infection, but the ‘underlying biology’ and a timeframe for these symptoms continue to elude clinicians, a presenter noted here.

A study of telemedicine and electronic patient portal use at an urban rheumatology center found significant disparities based on English-language proficiency, age, race and income, according to data presented at ACR Convergence 2021.

A booster dose of both vector and mRNA vaccine products yielded improved immune response in immunosuppressed patients using rituximab who had previously failed to show a response to the first two vaccines, according to data presented here.

First, let me say that I clearly do not know how the pandemic will end, but after considerable and ongoing study of this question, I am convinced it will not magically disappear.

COVID-19 symptoms persisted for at least 1 month in nearly 56% of patients with rheumatic disease who contracted COVID-19, according to survey data presented at ACR Convergence 2021.

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children demonstrates clinical and proteomic heterogeneity, with signals suggestive of thrombotic microangiopathy and macrophage activation syndrome, according to data presented at ACR Convergence 2021.

Bartonella is an important mimic of a variety of autoimmune diseases, and it can be subtle. This episode tackles the ways in which this strange organism can present to a rheumatologist.

mRNA COVID-19 vaccines were not linked to severe disease flares in patients with rheumatic diseases, although use of rituximab or mycophenolate mofetil dampened vaccine response, according to a presenter at ACR Convergence 2021.

One-third of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus demonstrate low response to the COVID-19 vaccine, a “blunted effect” linked to use of any immunosuppressive agent except antimalarials, according to a presenter at ACR Convergence 2021.