Rheumatologist

ATLANTA — Health care providers should avoid prescribing transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation or stem cell injections in favor of more comprehensive management — including nonpharmacological interventions such as tai chi — for hip, knee and hand osteoarthritis, according to draft guidelines presented at ACR/ARP 2019.

ATLANTA — Increased use of glucocorticoid-sparing agents is one of the key recommendations in a guideline document that covers seven vasculitis diseases, according to a speaker at ACR/ARP 2019.

ATLANTA — Gadolinium-enhanced MRI improved diagnostic accuracy in patients with polymyalgia rheumatica and helped predict disease recurrence, according to a presenter here.

ATLANTA — Because social media guidelines at the institution, practice setting and professional organizations are often vague or open to interpretation, Jilaine Bolek Berquist, MD, a rheumatologist with Mercy Health in Janesville, Wisconsin, focused her “Tweets & Trolls” talk on recommendations for physicians when using social media.

ATLANTA — Exercise is the one nonpharmacological intervention for which there is a strong recommendation in hip, knee, and hand osteoarthritis, according to a guideline update presented at ACR/ARP 2019.

ATLANTA — Among mothers with anti-Ro antibodies who had previously delivered a baby with congenital heart block, hydroxychloroquine was associated with a 50% in risk of that complication in subsequent pregnancies, according to a speaker at ACR/ARP 2019.

ATLANTA — A panel at ACR/ARP 2019 offered an overview of the new guidelines for giant cell arteritis, Takayasu’s syndrome, and polyarteritis nodosa.

ATLANTA — A national survey of rheumatology fellows found that early trainee level and young age are associated with worsening degrees of fatigue, quality of life and burnout, according to a speaker at the ACR/ARP Annual Meeting.

ATLANTA — Patients on Medicaid with systemic lupus erythematosus who underwent coronary revascularization procedures had 1.7 times higher 30-day mortality rates than those with diabetes who underwent the same procedures, according to a presenter here.

ATLANTA — Data from the Varicella Zoster Vaccine study demonstrate that administering live, attenuated varicella vaccine to patients taking TNF inhibitors did not result in any safety events or disease flare after 6 weeks. In addition, there were no cases of varicella infection — either wild or vaccine type.