At the Loma Linda University Medical Center, Calif., rheumatologists play a key consulting role for COVID-19 patients who may benefit from the use of biologic treatments…
Fellowship Training Goes Virtual: COVID-19 Pandemic Creates Training Challenges
With telemedicine platforms and Zoom calls, technology is playing a large role in how rheumatology fellows are seeing patients and participating in lectures and conferences…
Unprecedented Cluster of Hyperinflammatory Shock in Kids in U.K., possibly Linked to COVID-19
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Cases of a rare hyperinflammatory syndrome believed to be linked to novel coronavirus continue to be reported around the world. During a 10-day period in mid-April, clinicians in London treated an “unprecedented” cluster of eight children with hyperinflammatory shock, who presented to Evelina London Children’s Hospital pediatric intensive care unit (ICU), triggering…
U.S. to Tell Doctors to Report Cases of COVID-19 Inflammatory Syndrome in Kids
CHICAGO (Reuters)—On May 13, U.S. health officials said they will issue an alert telling doctors to report cases of a rare life-threatening inflammatory syndrome associated with COVID-19 in children to their state and local health departments. The alert from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will be released on Wednesday or Thursday,…
Hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 Fails Another Test
(Reuters)—The malaria treatment repeatedly championed by U.S. President Donald Trump as a game changer in the fight against the novel coronavirus has again failed to show a benefit in patients hospitalized with COVID-19, according to a recent study. Although the study published in The New England Journal of Medicine had certain limitations, doctors report that…
Arthritis Drug Anakinra Shows Promise in COVID-19
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Treatment with the interleukin-1 blocker anakinra appears to improve respiratory symptoms and reduced signs of cytokine storm in nearly three-quarters of patients with acute respiratory distress and cytokine release syndrome from COVID-19 in a small retrospective study from Italy. “Our study is the first to suggest that a high dose of the…
HCQ Prolongs QT Interval in Patients with COVID-19
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Potentially dangerous prolongation of the QT interval is common among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who receive hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) with or without concomitant azithromycin, according to two new studies. “This is a well-known problem with HCQ and azithromycin, which became amplified in this higher risk population,” Christina F. Yen, MD, from Beth Israel…
Pharmacy Team Combats COVID-19 in NYC: Q&A with Mark J. Sinnett, PharmD, FASHP
The outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is disrupting patient care all over the world. In the U.S., many providers have had to adapt to new social distancing measures to care for patients, but struggles remain. Mark J. Sinnett, PharmD, FASHP, director of clinical and educational pharmacy services and director of the Center for Pharmacotherapy Research…
Collaborating at the Leadership Level: Q&A with Lisa Fitzgerald, MD, & George Tsokos, MD
Rheumatology leaders are adapting to telemedicine and other modified collaborations to adjust patient care and research during the COVID-19 pandemic…
Adjusting Patient Care to Social Distancing: Q&A with Bryant Uy, MPH, PA-C
Working within a community experiencing a high number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is requiring a strategic approach to manage patient care…