Spondyloarthropathies News

Biosimilar use among Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries seems to depend most on practice setting and hospital ownership status, with few patient or physician characteristics linked to usage, according to data in JAMA Network Open.

The European Commission has extended approval for AbbVie’s upadacitinib 15 mg to treat adult patients with active psoriatic arthritis and adult patients with active ankylosing spondylitis, according to a company press release.

High disease activity and widespread pain in patients with axial spondyloarthritis are associated with the development of fibromyalgia, according to data published in Rheumatology.

Antidepressants are mostly ineffective for treating back pain, but may be beneficial for osteoarthritis and sciatica, according to data published in BMJ.

Patients with inflammatory rheumatic disease exhibited a higher incidence of COVID-19 hospitalization than the general population, and those with rheumatoid arthritis are at a greater risk for severe outcomes, according to data.

Although the risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes in patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease has lowered, it is nonetheless still significant, according to data published in The Lancet Rheumatology.

Glucocorticoids, even at a low dose, may increase the risk for COVID-19, while immunomodulatory treatments appear safe for patients with inflammatory arthritis, according to data published in Arthritis Research & Therapy.

Patients with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases and COVID-19 may be at greater risk for hospitalization, ICU admission, acute renal failure and venous thromboembolism, according to data published in Arthritis & Rheumatology.

Secukinumab in doses of 300 and 150 mg significantly improves signs and symptoms of axial disease, compared with placebo, in patients with psoriatic arthritis with axial manifestations, according to data.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and lupus often avoided office visits and lab testing in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data published in The Journal of Rheumatology.