CHICAGO—Joint trauma is one of many potential drivers of osteoarthritis disease activity and structural progression. In Post-Traumatic OA: Pathogenesis, Clinical Evolution and Management, a session at the 2018 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, experts discussed the effects of sports and other injuries on even young patients’ joints. Post-traumatic osteoarthritis (OA) may account for 12% of hip, knee…
A 70–year-old female patient with rheumatoid arthritis affecting multiple joints who is rheumatoid-factor positive but without organ or system failure returns for her third infliximab infusion. She is scheduled to receive 500 mg of the drug. How should this encounter be coded? 96413, 96415, J1745 x 50; ICD 10: M05.79 96413, 96415, J1745 x 50;…
Presentation A 26-year-old man with a history of acne vulgaris and hidradenitis suppurativa presented to our rheumatology clinic with persistent back pain and stiffness of three years’ duration. He described bilateral low back pain that was worse when he arose in the morning and at night when he was trying to sleep. In a similar…
Traditional X-rays, move over—there may be a new gold standard for joint imaging to assess even the smallest changes that can signal the onset of arthritis, as reported recently in the journal Scientific Reports.1 Utilizing the combined expertise of radiologists, rheumatologists and engineers, University of Cambridge researchers developed an algorithm to monitor the joints of…
Patients with rheumatic diseases may be undertreated for osteoporosis. To decrease fracture risk for at-risk patients, rheumatologists can engage patients in shared decision making with regular screening and education about treatment options…
Over time, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) can lead to considerable organ damage. Preventing this outcome is complicated by a scarcity of treatment options that can drive the disease into remission and by the side effects of existing therapies, such as prednisone and other corticosteroids, which may themselves contribute to the long-term damage. The largest study…
(Reuters Health)—Vitamin D supplementation may not improve bone density or prevent fractures and falls in adults, a large new analysis suggests. After combining data from 81 randomized controlled trials, researchers found no bone benefits from supplementing the vitamin, according to the report in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, online October 4. “Our results show that…
The ACR advocates on behalf of the rheumatology community throughout the year, but it’s always especially exciting when patients join our efforts in Washington, D.C. Close to 100 patients, rheumatologists and representatives of the broader interprofessional team traveled to our nation’s capital this week to participate in the ACR’s annual Advocates for Arthritis event. Participants…
Down syndrome (trisomy 21) is one of the most common chromosomal abnormalities. According to the Genomic Resource Centre of the World Health Organization, each year 3,000–5,000 children are born with this chromosome disorder, and about 250,000 families have at least one member with Down syndrome in the U.S. Down syndrome is caused by numerical aneuploidy,…
Can principles from engineering provide a broader understanding of how the human skeleton works and be used to help prevent a common and often consequential event for people as they age—bone fractures? Research from a team of investigators that includes orthopedic surgeons and mechanical engineers suggests that, yes, looking at how engineered materials, such as…