Exclusive: ACR Convergence 2024| Focus Rheums

An official publication of the ACR and the ARP serving rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals

Lupus or Not? Machine Learning May Help Diagnose Lupus Early

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Can machine learning aid clinicians in diagnosing systemic lupus erythematosus? Adamichou et al. designed an algorithm that uses classical features of lupus to simulate medical reasoning and identify lupus early in the disease process. They were able to validate the algorithm, which demonstrated high sensitivity, specificity and accuracy.

A 2021 Update on Lupus Management & Treatment

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At the 2021 ACR State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium, Saira Sheikh, MD, associate pro­fessor of Medicine and director of the Rheumatology Lupus Clinic, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, provided an update on the past, present and future of the management of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This year, hydroxychloroquine received a great deal of attention, given early…

Yellow Card for the Yellow Card

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Independence Day. I can’t wait. Generally, it’s not a holiday that carries a lot of meaning for me. Having grown up in New York and Boston, the smaller firework displays that take place in Baltimore fail to impress. Also, as a program director, the holiday falls in the middle of the new fellows’ first week…

Case Report: A Mycobacterium kansasii Infection

Kayleigh A. Sullivan, MD, MA, MPH, Nicole Orzechowski, DO, & Elizabeth A. Talbot, MD  |  

A 61-year-old white woman presented to our rheumatology clinic in New England to establish care in early June 2018, following a move from Texas. She reported a medical history of inflammatory bowel disease, uveitis and sero­negative inflammatory arthritis, which was difficult to control and required the use of multiple medications. At her initial visit, she…

7 Key Insights Into the Evaluation of Central Nervous System Vasculitis

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Many a rheumatology consult has centered on a perplexing question: Does this patient have central nervous system (CNS) vasculitis? At the 2021 ACR State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium, Rula Hajj-Ali, MD, FACP, professor of medicine and associate director of vasculitis care and research, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, discussed this topic in detail, providing a series…

Dr. Daniel L. Kastner Awarded the 2021 Crafoord Prize for Polyarthritis

Frank A. Wollheim, MD, PhD, FRCP, MACR  |  

On Feb. 1, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that Daniel L. Kastner, MD, PhD, scientific director of the Division of Intramural Research of the National Human Genome Research Institute, where he is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Distinguished Investigator, was awarded the 2021 Crafoord Prize in Polyarthritis “for having established the concept…

Rheum After 5: Dr. Garg Applies Coffee as an Art Medium

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Some artists paint with oils or watercolors, others with acrylics. Shivani Garg, MD, MS, prefers Nescafé or Maxwell House coffee. A faculty member in the Division of Rheumatology in the Department of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (UWSMPH), Madison, Dr. Garg learned this technique—painting with instant coffee mixed…

Rheumatology Research Foundation Funds 5 COVID-19 Studies for $1.65 Million

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In spring 2020, as it became obvious that COVID-19 wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, the leaders of the Rheumatology Research Foundation implemented an expedited process to distribute research funding beyond its typical awards program. This resulted in the Foundation awarding $1.65 million to fund five research studies that will look at the relationships between rheumatic…