Rheumatoid Arthritis News

Medicare spending on DMARDs frequently used for rheumatoid arthritis increased from $4.4 billion to more than $10 billion between 2012 and 2017, with biologic DMARDs accounting for 95% of total expenditures each year, according data.

A review of social media posts by patients with rheumatoid arthritis revealed generally positive opinions about DMARDs, particularly regarding efficacy, according to findings published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

The term “game-changer” is thrown around freely in the English language vernacular. But it is unlikely that anything in the near future will change the game of rheumatology practice — and, consequently, the management of rheumatoid arthritis — as much as COVID-19.

The combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin significantly increased risk for heart failure and cardiovascular mortality among patients with rheumatoid arthritis, according to data published in The Lancet Rheumatology.

Glucocorticoids are associated with a dose-dependent increase in the risk for serious infections among patients with rheumatoid arthritis receiving DMARDs, according to data published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

COVID-19 outcomes are worse among patients with inflammatory arthritis receiving glucocorticoids, but not in those receiving anticytokine therapy, according to data published in Arthritis & Rheumatology.

Adults with rheumatoid arthritis are 23% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than individuals without the disease, suggesting that an inflammatory response may drive both conditions, according to findings from a meta-analysis.

Eli Lilly & Co. announced that its JAK inhibitor baricitinib, when combined with remdesivir, reduced the time to recovery in patients with COVID-19 compared with remdesivir alone.

New and emerging risk stratification tools can assist rheumatologists who are increasingly “taking on the challenge” of cardiovascular risk management in patients, according to a speaker at the 2020 Congress of Clinical Rheumatology-East.

It is essential that rheumatologists aim for “low” or “quiescent” disease activity several months before conception in their patients who desire to become pregnant, according to a presenter at the 2020 Congress of Clinical Rheumatology-East.