Infection News

The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in, among other things, a debate that almost no one could have anticipated prior to late 2019 — the value and necessity of in-person gatherings for medical conferences.

Children who are hospitalized for rotavirus demonstrate a higher risk for developing juvenile-onset autoimmune diseases, including inflammatory arthritis and vasculitis, according to data published in JAMA Network Open.

Half of patients with long COVID demonstrate persistent inflammation and may potentially benefit from immunomodulation, according to data.

SARS-CoV-2 infection accounted for roughly one in six cases of sepsis at five Massachusetts hospitals during the first 33 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to findings from a large study of more than 430,000 patient encounters.

Despite massive studies representing millions of participants that demonstrate associations between COVID-19 and autoimmune disease, whether the virus can actually cause autoimmunity remains unsettled.

Patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases are as likely as the general population to contract COVID-19, but are at a higher risk for severe outcomes, including hospitalization and death, according to data.

An automated best practice advisory within the electronic health record can improve infectious disease screening in patients with autoimmune and rheumatic conditions, according to data published in Arthritis Care & Research.

Patients with COVID-19 demonstrate a 43% increased risk for new-onset autoimmune diseases in the 3 to 15 months following acute infection, according to data published in Clinical Rheumatology.

Distinguishing between long COVID and fibromyalgia has challenged health care providers across specialties, but rheumatologists may be positioned to clearly define both conditions and offer patients much-needed relief and respect.

Certain new-onset inflammatory rheumatic diseases, including polymyalgia rheumatica and vasculitis, may be triggered by SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination against COVID-19, according to data published in RMD Open.