Rheumatology

These are indeed strange and scary times for us all and this month’s cover story takes us into territory we would have found disorienting and completely unrelated to the field of rheumatology only a short generation ago: cytokine storm syndrome. We are indebted to our esteemed faculty, including Randy Q. Cron, MD, PhD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Maximilian F. Konig, MD, of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who will discuss the cutting edge of this rapidly evolving field.

Rheumatology practices across the United States have reported significant decreases in patient visits and revenue as a result of COVID-19, losses which have contributed to staff furloughs and endangered the sustainability of some practices, according to survey data presented during a webinar hosted by United Rheumatology.

The United Rheumatology Spring National Meeting will offer attendees lectures on cutting edge topics such as genomics and transcriptomics in addition to a range of continuing medical education activities. But the real appeal of United Rheumatology, and of the meeting, will be the guidance that can be provided to independent rheumatologists regarding practice management strategies and interacting with payers.

MAUI, Hawaii — As patient demand for care continues to outpace the available rheumatology workforce in the U.S., the use of telemedicine has been strongly endorsed as a way to alleviate the shortage. However, whether the benefits of virtual rheumatology care justify the potential legal risks remained hotly debated during the 2020 Rheumatology Winter Clinical Symposium.

With more than 300,000 children with arthritis and other rheumatic conditions across the United States, and fewer than 350 pediatric rheumatologists to treat them, Monica L. Friedman, DO, of Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, is on the front lines of the growing rheumatology shortage.

Despite pressure from the Trump administration and Congress to curb rising drug costs, pharmaceutical companies — in what has become a common industry practice — have begun January 2020 by instituting a bevy of price increases.

ATLANTA — Certolizumab pegol and bimekizumab were associated with improvements ranging from work productivity to disease activity in patients with spondyloarthritic conditions, according to findings presented in three abstracts at ACR/ARP 2019.

ATLANTA — Gout is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease, as calculated via population-level cardiovascular risk equations, according to data presented at ACR/ARP 2019.

ATLANTA — The presence of tenosynovitis, along with an anti-filaggrin peptide, were associated with the development of rheumatoid arthritis in a cohort of participants who underwent anti-citrullinated protein antibody testing, according to a speaker at ACR/ARP 2019.

ATLANTA — Biologic DMARDs were as efficacious among patients with rheumatoid arthritis aged 60 years and older at disease onset as it was among younger patients, with comparable rates of drug maintenance and adverse event discontinuation between the two groups, according to findings presented at the 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting.