ACR Convergence 2021—The Pediatric Rheumatology Year in Review began with a fascinating talk by Mara Becker, MD, MSCE, a professor of Pediatrics and vice chair of faculty at Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, N.C. Dr. Becker began by describing her search strategy to select high-yield clinical science publications in pediatric rheumatology from the past…
New concepts in autoimmunity & immunology are being discovered daily in research being conducted to understand the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its implications for rheumatology & all fields of medicine. Here are some insights shared by experts during day 1 of the Basic and Clinical Research Conference.
The Basic and Clinical Research Conference session on Rheumatology Complications of Emerging Viral Infections/SARS-CoV-2 presented findings from numerous studies that help explain some of the idiosyncrasies of COVID-19.
On Sept. 9, my 5-year-old son boarded a bus for his first day of kindergarten. In some senses, this was no different from any other year. We spent weeks trying to get him excited for school (he is not a fan of changes). We went to kindergarten orientation, toured his classroom and sat on his…
Keynote speaker Seema Yasmin, MD, brought her unique perspective to moving past the pandemic to improve provider mental health, address vaccine hesitancy and prepare for future health crises.
Gendron et al. undertook this study to investigate the prevalence and prognostic value of conventional and nonconventional antiphospholipid antibodies in patients with COVID-19.
Some were furious. State by state, laws were enacted to ensure compliance. In most states, the laws were accompanied by a modest fine, as an added incentive. By the time the laws were written, most understood they were based on good science and common sense. The potential to save lives and prevent tragedy was finally…
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated wide disparities that exist in the U.S. healthcare system. During the pandemic, the clinical practice in the Section of Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology at Yale School of Medicine (YSM), New Haven, Conn., rapidly pivoted from face-to-face visits to telehealth to keep our patients and providers safe. Many patients quickly adapted and…
Reuters)—Severe COVID-19 may trick the immune system into producing autoantibodies that have the potential to eventually attack healthy tissue and cause inflammatory diseases, researchers warned in a paper published in Nature Communications.1 They found autoantibodies in blood samples from roughly 50% of the 147 COVID-19 patients they studied, but in fewer than 15% of 41…
PRSYM 2021—Although primary COVID-19 infection has the most significant complications in adult patients, pediatric rheumatologists have also seen significant changes in their practice over the past year. With the emergence of COVID-19, the rise of a mysterious post-COVID hyperinflammatory syndrome, now known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), was identified, and pediatric rheumatologists have…