Conditions

Subcategories:Axial Spondyloarthritis Gout and Crystalline Arthritis Guidelines Myositis Osteoarthritis and Bone Disorders Other Rheumatic Conditions Pain Syndromes Pediatric Conditions Psoriatic Arthritis Rheumatoid Arthritis Sjögren’s Disease Soft Tissue Pain Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Systemic Sclerosis Vasculitis

Rheumatology Coding Corner Question: Coding for Acute Flare of Idiopathic Gout

From the College | December 16, 2015

It has been two months since the implementation of ICD-10, so everyone has gotten a feel for the new code set. Let’s see how well you are doing in your diagnosis coding for rheumatology-specific conditions. A 55-year-old female patient presents for a follow-up visit of idiopathic chronic gout of multiple joints without tophi. She complains…

Best Practices for Treating Non-Specific Low Back Pain

Emma W. White, PT, DPT, OCS, & Andy Bonin, MD | December 16, 2015

Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common reasons for physician appointments. However, treatment results remain suboptimal, resulting in high rates of chronic pain, narcotic usage, surgery, depression and disability—all at great cost to individuals and the nation. One reason for this is the current practice of grouping all low back pain patients…

Clues to Diagnosing, Managing Vanishing Aneurysms

Taral Parikh, MD, G.C. Yathish, MD, Parikshit Sagdeo, MD, Balakrishnan Canchi, MD, & Gurmeet Mangat, MD | December 16, 2015

Case report: A 27-year-old male was referred to the rheumatology outpatient department in February 2015 from the urology department after complaining of recent-onset uncontrolled hypertension (220/160 mmHg), headache and vomiting. In 2010, he was admitted to the urologist for sudden-onset left lumbar region pain and recent-onset hypertension. Clinical examination and the blood tests were normal….

How to Manage Polymyalgia Rheumatica

Mary Beth Nierengarten | December 16, 2015

Recognizing the need to provide guidance on the current disparate management of polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), in collaboration with the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR), recently published the first international set of recommendations for the screening, treatment and management of PMR.1,2 Specifically, the recommendations offer guidance on the use of…

GPA Patient Carries NORD Banner to Top of Mt. Everest

Carol Patton | December 16, 2015

On May 23, 2010, Cindy Abbott was standing on top of the world. She had spent the past 51 days climbing Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world, and had finally reached the summit. “I was very anxious to get off and get back down,” she says, adding that the summit is about the…

Patient-Centered Care Model for RA Flares Could Improve Self-Management of Symptoms

Mary Beth Nierengarten | December 16, 2015

A recent trend to incorporate patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in clinical research, and ultimately clinical practice, is a response to the need to better measure and treat what patients truly care about, and adapt to the changing healthcare environment, which increasingly includes patient satisfaction as a key metric for overall quality of care, a metric tied…

New SLE Drug May Allow Patients to Reduce Steroid Use

Michele B. Kaufman, PharmD, BCGP | December 16, 2015

In a recent study, the use of anifrolumab in SLE patients was shown to be safe and effective, enabling some patients to decrease their oral steroids. Also, secukinumab has been approved in Europe to treat ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis…

New Evidence MRI Can Be Used to Monitor Neuromuscular Disease Progression

Lara C. Pullen, PhD | December 14, 2015

In a study of patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, researchers found that MRI scans can be used to detect the muscle water changes that precede marked intramuscular fat accumulation that may contribute to the disease’s presentation. MRI biomarkers may prove useful in clinical trials for therapies for this and other neuromuscular disorders by enabling researchers to measure disease progression…

Careful Management Improves Safety of Stem Cell Transplantation in Crohn’s

Will Boggs, MD | December 13, 2015

NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Careful use of antibiotics and corticosteroids can substantially improve the safety of autologous hematopoietic stem transplantation (HSCT) in patients with refractory Crohn’s disease (CD), researchers from Spain report. “Autologous HSCT is feasible but it is associated with severe adverse events and even mortality,” Dr. Elena Ricart from Hospital Clinic de Barcelona tells…

Exercise Helps Manage Hip Osteoarthritis Pain

Kathryn Doyle | December 12, 2015

(Reuters Health)—Water- or land-based exercise should provide some short-term benefit in pain management for hip osteoarthritis, though there are few well-designed trials testing it, according to a new review. “It is nice to finally have some hip-specific data, as hip and knee osteoarthritis are often grouped together, and it’s almost certain that there are differences…