Frailty & Prefrailty in Patients with RA TNF-α inhibitors associated with higher infection risk By Namrata Singh, MD, MSCI, Katherine D. Wysham, MD, James S. Andrews, MD, & Una E. Makris, MD Why was this study done? Frailty and prefrailty are more common and occur at a younger age in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA)…
Consulting rheumatologists often assess patients with atypical clinical presentations for the possibility of an underlying rheumatic disease. Inflammatory syndromes that are not clearly rheumatic in nature can be particularly challenging to diagnose. Here, we share the case of a young woman with a long-standing undiagnosed illness and highly elevated inflammatory markers, and describe the evaluation…
Nearly all adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with chronic pediatric rheumatic disease require transfer of care to an adult rheumatologist, yet almost half are lost from care at the time of transfer.1-3 Although sometimes framed as a discrete event, transition refers to the longitudinal process, often spanning several years, in which AYAs and their families…
A 24-year-old woman presented to our rheumatology office in 2017 with a blotchy purple rash on her arms and legs. She reported no history of miscarriage or blood clots. The rash pattern was concerning for livedo reticularis or livedo racemosa, and she was noted to have an anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) titer of 1:160 with a…
Psoriatic arthritis (PsA), scleroderma and lupus often require management input from both rheumatologists and dermatologists. Usually patients see the two specialists separately. Combining both in a single rheumatology/dermatology clinic appointment can improve outcomes and increase both provider and patient satisfaction. “Physicians talk about tearing down silos of care, where each specialist focuses on their part…
A typical patient with a rheumatic disease needs a multifaceted treatment approach to address comorbidities, minimize disability, promote quality of life and improve survival. To achieve these outcomes, rheumatology research has evolved from examining a single treatment to studying the best treatment approaches. Examples of these strategy trials include how to best combine pharmaceutical therapies,…
Multi-disciplinary care may be a slowly growing trend. One clinic in Ohio is raising the bar for lupus patients, serving as a one-stop center for diagnostic testing, imaging services and physical therapy. The clinic is also able to conduct basic research to advance lupus treatment and tests…
A patient case [The Rheumatologist, May 2014], emphasizes importance of good communication among multiple healthcare providers
A patient with autoimmune ocular disease raises concerns about the moral, professional obligations of rheumatologists to help patients whose condition is not clearly within the scope of rheumatology
Careful collaboration is key to treating patients with rheumatic or inflammatory diseases that affect the eyes