Exclusive: ACR Convergence 2024| Focus Rheums

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

RA Patients with ILD & Liver Disease Present Treatment Challenges

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ACR CONVERGENCE 2020—Patients with concurrent rheumatological arthritis (RA) and liver disease or interstitial lung disease or treatment-refractory rheumatoid arthritis pose treatment challenges, according to the panelists of the ACR Convergence 2020’s How I Treat Difficult RA: Panel Session. Each panelist discussed a difficult case and raised questions on how to best treat it. Joan M….

Newer Targets Pave the Way for Future Lupus Therapies

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ACR CONVERGENCE 2020—Although rheumatologists have struggled with a lack of new therapies for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), recent positive trial results have brought renewed hope for more treatments. That was the theme of the ACR Convergence 2020 session, State of the Art: Lupus—The Future Is Now, led by Peggy Crow, MD, the Benjamin M. Cohen…

Advantages of Embedding a Specialty Pharmacist in a Rheumatology Clinic

Polly J. Ferguson, MD, Jessica Lynton, PharmD, BCPS, & Beth H. Resman-Targoff, PharmD, FCCP, on behalf of the ARP Membership & Nominations Committee  |  

The number of medications with rheumatologic indications has increased in parallel with expanding complexities of medication approval and delivery. Simply starting a patient on a biologic medication or new disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) can be time consuming and frustrating for physicians, nurses and their support staff. In addition to educating the patient and obtaining prior…

The New Guidance Subcommittee Gives ACR More Document Flexibility

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The ACR publishes multiple types of documents to provide guidance for its members, but some potentially beneficial topics have not fit neatly into existing production pathways. To answer the need, the ACR has formed a Guidance Subcommittee to the Quality of Care (QOC) Committee. This will allow the ACR to adapt more nimbly, when appropriate,…

View On-Demand Sessions & Content from ACR Convergence 2020

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Content from ACR Convergence 2020, including scientific sessions, posters, exhibits, and community hubs, is available to All-Access Pass and COVID-19 Pass participants to view and access on-demand through March 11, 2021. View sessions you missed and related Q&As with the speakers, read and catch up on posters, interact with exhibits and industry events, and view…

Has the Mathematization of Rheumatoid Arthritis Gone Too Far?

Carlos Antonio Moura, MD, Ana Luísa Cerqueira de Sant’Ana Costa, MD, & Carlos Geraldo Moura, MD  |  

The search for knowledge has shaped Western culture and is based on Greek philosophy, especially Aristotelian metaphysics. During the Middle Ages, this knowledge was matured by dialectical scholasticism, culminating, in its later stages, in the amalgam between Islamic science and the neo-Aristotelianism of St. Thomas Aquinas.1 In this way, the foundations of the future scientific…

How to Terminate a Patient Relationship

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The success of a physician-patient relationship encompasses several important factors, including mutual respect, trust and effective communication. But what can be done when this relationship becomes adversarial and communication breaks down? The American Medical Association has historically pointed out that poor physician-patient communication is directly related to malpractice or discrimination lawsuits. When providers end a…

Study: DPP4 Inhibitors Yield Promise for Systemic Sclerosis Treatment

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A recent paper in Arthritis & Rheumatology opens up the possibility of a new research avenue to treat systemic sclerosis: dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) inhibitors, a previously approved therapy for type 2 diabetes.1 Work in mouse models and on skin samples from systemic sclerosis patients suggests these drugs pose a promising area of future translational…

Study Looks at Cryoglobulin Detection & Immunological Characteristics

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A study that focused on the detection and immunological characteristics of cryoglobulins provides insights for rheumatologists and other rheumatology providers, as well as lab professionals. Co-researchers Marie N. Kolopp-Sarda, PharmD, PhD, and Pierre Miossec, MD, PhD, Clinical Immunology Unit, Department of Immunology and Rheumatology, University of Lyon, France, included in their retrospective study, published in…

Rheumatologist in India Finds the Patient Global Assessment Challenging

Anand N. Malaviya, MD, FRCP, ACR Master  |  

It was a delight to read the comments in the May 2019 issue of The Rheumatologist on a paper by Hirsch and colleagues, discussing how health literacy affects the patient global assessment.1,2 Patient-driven outcome measures (PROs), patient global assessment on a visual analog scale (VAS) or a numeric rating scale (NRS), a segmented numeric version…