Immunosuppression

Coordinated care between oncology and rheumatology is one of the key principles of the EULAR recommendations for management of immune-related adverse events associated with cancer checkpoint inhibitor therapy, according to data presented at the EULAR 2020 E-Congress.

A 22-year retrospective study of inquires about neuroinfectious diseases in the Emerging Infections Network suggests that neuroinfectious diseases are an “important and challenging component” of infectious disease physicians’ practice.

Based on patient-reported outcome measures, patients on belatacept-based therapies had higher gains in quality of life 2 years after kidney transplantation than patients on tacrolimus-based regimens.

This episode dives into the rare Whipple’s disease, focusing on the articular manifestations of this infectious masquerader and when a rheumatologist should consider it in the differential.

In the face of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, patients with systemic sclerosis should continue immunosuppression to avoid relapses, but should discontinue if they or someone in their household develops COVID-19 symptoms, according to a panel of experts endorsed by the World Scleroderma Foundation in a series of Q&A-style recommendations published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

Limbal stem cell deficiency with or without conjunctival deficiency can lead to sequelae that result in severe visual loss. While an ocular surface stem cell transplantation, or OSST, and keratoprosthesis are both viable options to rehabilitate vision, OSST should be seen as the first choice for most patients.

Mohs micrographic surgery was superior to wide local excision as measured by local recurrence rates in a cohort of patients with T2a squamous cell carcinoma, according to a study.

Good news about COVID-19 is at a premium these days. Encouraging reports about therapeutic options or vaccine development usually are either overly optimistic or entirely spurious. But scientific advancement is as relentless as the virus itself, and this is exemplified by a growing body of research into a potential association between cytokine storm syndrome and COVID-19.

Recent use of biologics or targeted synthetic DMARDs is not associated with an increased risk for mortality or readmission following hip fracture, abdominopelvic or cardiac surgery, compared with methotrexate, according to data published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

There are many people in the United States living with liver disease. Patients with liver disease, in particular those who are awaiting a liver transplant, have a higher risk for being affected by COVID-19. Patients who recently received a liver disease diagnosis are also at higher risk because they take immunosuppressants.