Infection News

Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus who are vaccinated for COVID-19 demonstrate reduced antibody levels compared with vaccinated controls, according to data published in Arthritis Care & Research.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Mind-body therapy may play a key role in achieving more positive outcomes for patients with long COVID, according to a speaker at the Basic and Clinical Immunology for the Busy Clinician symposium.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — In the absence of approved long COVID therapies, rheumatologists are encouraged to treat the symptoms and “listen empathically,” noted a presenter at the Basic and Clinical Immunology for the Busy Clinician symposium.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Future strategies for managing cytokine storm may rely on adequately predicting treatment response, according to a speaker at the Basic and Clinical Immunology for the Busy Clinician symposium.

The regulations and reimbursement structures surrounding telehealth that were loosened during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic have begun to tighten again, and could have significant implications in rheumatology.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Although omicron variants appear generally less severe and more manageable than previous SARS-CoV-2 strains, patients with rheumatologic conditions should remain vigilant, according to a presenter.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz — The study of COVID-19 may in turn improve the understanding of immunology by demonstrating that the immune system is “highly alive,” said a speaker at the Basic and Clinical Immunology for the Busy Clinician symposium.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a rapid adoption of telemedicine among rheumatologists and a delaying of advanced treatments for rheumatoid arthritis, according to data published in Rheumatology Advances in Practice.

Although the breakthrough infection rate has been high in patients using rituximab during the later stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a small proportion of those who are fully vaccinated develop severe outcomes, according to data.

Key risk factors that may predict severe disease in patients with MIS-C include fever greater than 103.1 degrees Fahrenheit, central nervous system involvement and left ventricular dysfunction, according to data published in Rheumatology.