Shrinking lung syndrome (SLS) is a rare cause of dyspnea that has been most commonly described in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but is also found in systemic sclerosis, Sjögren’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Shrinking lung syndrome is characterized by a restrictive pattern on lung spirometry, despite normal lung parenchyma, and an elevated diaphragm.1…
At the end of 2023, the Society for Cardiovascular Pathology (SCVP) published consensus guidelines on the diagnostic approach to temporal artery biopsy.1 Through this publication, SCVP hopes to bring more uniformity to the processing, interpretation and reporting of these specimens, taking into consideration the most up-to-date literature available. These guidelines have obvious impact on clinical…
As Kimberly Steinbarger discussed in her article “Make Way for the Interprofessional Rheumatology Team” (The Rheumatologist, October 2023), an interprofessional team approach would be crucial to the most appropriate management of rheumatology patients with multiple comorbidities. Unfortunately, in many rural areas throughout the country, subspecialists are in short supply or are lacking altogether. Patients are…
As I was aimlessly browsing the web one night, I noticed a strange ad on the side. It was for a bird feeder powered by artificial intelligence (AI). I don’t know exactly what prompted the Google ad algorithm to show me this particular advertisement, but I was nevertheless struck by it. Against my better judgment,…
Most Sunday mornings, I make myself an exceptional cup of pour-over coffee and sit down on my deck with the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. I check out the image of the week. I read the case report with pen in hand, racing to diagnose the patient before the authors spill…
Magdalena “Maggie” Cadet, MD, a rheumatologist in New York City, remembers learning about the relationship between physical activity and bone health at a young age. She was 5 years old when she first began taking ballet, jazz and tap-dancing lessons. At 9, she became a competitive figure skater and practiced both dance and ice skating…
Wondering how best to care for an adult patient with juvenile idiopathic arthritis-associated uveitis or a pediatric patient with early-onset osteoarthritis? Unsure how to manage a 23-year-old with chronic nonbacterial osteomyelitis or an 8-year-old with tophaceous gout due to Lesch-Nyhan syndrome? Ask a Med-Peds rheumatologist. What Is a Med-Peds Rheumatologist? Med-Peds rheumatologists in the U.S….
Nearly one-third of academic physicians surveyed, including many rheumatologists, were considering leaving their institutions within two years of the survey, often because of a lack of professional fulfillment or from professional burnout, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open in fall 2023.1,2 That amount of physician turnover contributes to an interruption of patient…
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has the potential to fundamentally shift the treatment of autoimmune disease. During his presentation at EULAR 2024, Georg Schett, MD, provided an overview of this treatment process and described the promising findings of the latest research.
As uncertainty persists around federal policies regarding copay accumulator programs, a growing number of states are stepping in. A total of 21 states have banned the programs and others are increasing transparency requirements