Spondyloarthropathies News

AMSTERDAM — Treatment options for spondyloarthritis have in recent years expanded from NSAIDs and TNF-inhibitors to interleukin-17 inhibitors, such as secukinumab, according to a presenter at the EULAR Annual Congress.

AMSTERDAM — Despite current treatment recommendations, fewer than half of women of childbearing age with chronic rheumatic diseases reported visiting a health care professional prior to becoming pregnant, and a majority of these women had to initiate discussions of family planning themselves, according to data presented at the EULAR Annual Congress.

AMSTERDAM — Although receiving an early diagnosis will be key in improving the lives of patients with axial spondyloarthritis, achieving that goal remains a substantial challenge, according to findings presented at the EULAR Annual Congress.

Fatigue has a significant and independent effect on absenteeism, presenteeism, productivity loss and activity impairment among patients with rheumatoid arthritis who are beginning treatment with etanercept, according to findings published in Arthritis Research & Therapy.

AMSTERDAM — The use of certolizumab pegol for rheumatic diseases or inflammatory bowel disease during pregnancy is not associated with an increased risk of major congenital malformations or fetal death compared to the general population, according to data presented at the EULAR Annual Congress.

AMSTERDAM — Patients with inflammatory arthritis have a significantly increased rate of self-harm attempt, and the risk for self-harm is particularly high following a diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis, according to findings presented at the EULAR Annual Congress.

Physicians need to have full knowledge of their patients’ needs, preferences and priorities, as well as their pain characteristics and history, to enact personalized management plans, which should include patient education and considerations for multidisciplinary intervention, according to recommendations published by a EULAR task force.

DESTIN, Fla. — Although the incidence of rheumatologic adverse effects associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors is expected to grow with their increased use, these effects remain poorly studied in random clinical trials, according to findings presented at the 2018 Congress of Clinical Rheumatology.

Among patients with suspected axial spondyloarthritis, the perception of their illness — rather than the use of a coping strategy — significantly impacted the relationship between back pain and health-related quality of life and loss of work productivity, according to findings published in Arthritis Care and Research.

Patients with spondyloarthritis — particularly men with axial disease — had high rates of drug retention of the first TNF inhibitor over 5- and 10-year time periods, according to findings published in the Journal of Rheumatology.