When the first laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 case was reported by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) on Jan. 22, it was difficult to predict an ensuing global pandemic would last for more than half the year. Approximately one week after the initial CDC report, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) declared…
A 67–year-old white woman with primary Raynaud’s phenomenon presented following a week of progressively worsening shortness of breath, dry cough and generalized malaise. An avid tennis player, she first noticed dyspnea while playing, but a few days later grew short of breath even at rest. She went to an urgent care center, where a computed…
Serological testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies may play a critical role in the management of the worldwide health crisis. Such testing may reveal key information for epidemiology, convalescent plasma therapies and vaccine development. However, the situation is complex, and much is unknown. Although such testing may ultimately be used to…
Legislative staff talk about working during the pandemic and how they are connecting with constituents.
An estimated one in four American adults live with a rheumatic disease, and according to a new national patient survey by the ACR, the healthcare and lifestyle challenges have become worse for these patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Key survey findings include: Patients currently seeing a rheumatologist declined 52% between 2019 and 2020; 68% of…
What to vaccinate for and when to do so are challenges for rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals under normal circumstances. During the COVID-19 pandemic, even more questions are being raised, specifically regarding a possible vaccine for SARS-CoV-2. The ACR’s COVID-19 Practice and Advocacy Task Force is working on a guidance document to help ACR members address these pressing questions.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Immunomodulatory therapy is not recommended for most children with COVID-19 who typically will have a mild to moderate course of illness, experts advise in a guidance document in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.1 For children with severe or critical COVID-19, immunomodulatory agents “may be beneficial,” but the risks and…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—A new study of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) shows that the immune system is profoundly altered during acute illness, but gradually returns back to normal. MIS-C is distinct from both COVID-19 and Kawasaki disease, but is associated with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, the immunological profiling study reveals. Dr. Manu Shankar-Hari, an…
This September marks the ACR’s fifth annual Rheumatic Disease Awareness Month (RDAM), which is designed to build support and advocate for patients with rheumatic diseases. This year’s theme, “My disease may be invisible, but I’m not,” emphasizes patients’ personal experiences…
For many months, the healthcare world has been significantly affected by the swift and pervasive effects of SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19. The virus has severely affected the delivery of patient care by all providers, including those in hospitals and emergency care settings, who grappled with the response to massive influxes of COVID-19 patients, and those…