Rheumatology News

• Antibiotic Outcomes Comparable in Early Cutaneous Lyme Borreliosis Neither the treatment modality nor the antibiotic employed appears to have a notable impact on efficacy or adverse effects in patients with early cutaneous Lyme borreliosis, according to German researchers.
  Reuters Health Information, October 2018
• Most Older Patients OK With Deprescribing Most older adults (92%) were willing to stop taking at least one of their medications with permission from their physician, a survey of Medicare recipients has found.
  Medscape Medical News, October 2018
• Treatment Failure More Common With Local Gentamicin for Acute Periprosthetic Joint Infections Treatment-failure rates for early acute periprosthetic joint infections are higher when gentamicin-impregnated beads and/or sponges are applied during debridement, researchers from the Netherlands report.
  Reuters Health Information, October 2018
• SPA 2018In Peripheral Spondyloarthritis, Early Biologic Needed New data from the CRESPA extension study show that the addition of methotrexate during biologic tapering has no significant effect on remission in peripheral spondyloarthritis.
  Medscape Medical News, October 2018
• Genetics Drive Gout Risk Far More Than Diet The high serum urate levels associated with risk for gout are far more influenced by heredity than by diet, and experts suggested that recognizing this might increase the use of urate-lowering drugs.
  Medscape Medical News, October 2018
• J&J's Stelara Succeeds in Ulcerative Colitis Study Johnson & Johnson said on Tuesday its blockbuster drug Stelara (ustekinumab) was found to be effective in treating ulcerative colitis (UC) in a late-stage trial.
  Reuters Health Information, October 2018
• Better Insurance Coverage of Non-Drug Therapies Might Help Ease Opioid Crisis When it comes to non-drug therapies for back pain, U.S. insurance plans vary widely in what they will cover, a new study finds.
  Reuters Health Information, October 2018
• AAFP 2018AAFP Breaks From AMA, Adopts Neutral Aid-in-Dying Stance American Academy of Family Physicians delegates took a neutral stance, opting to let families, physicians, and states make aid-in-dying decisions, in opposition to American Medical Association policy.
  Medscape Medical News, October 2018
• AAFP 2018Alternative to 10-Year MOC Exam Coming in 2019 Early next year, a pilot program will allow family physicians to answer 25 open-book questions every quarter on any computer, at no charge, instead of the 10-year maintenance of certification exam.
  Medscape Medical News, October 2018
• AAFP 2018Physicians Voice Frustration Over Uncompensated Work Physicians say they are spending considerable hours on documentation that they don't get paid for, but they differ on how to fix the problem.
  Medscape Medical News, October 2018
• Periprosthetic Femoral Fractures Linked to Bisphosphonates Atypical femoral fractures (AFFs) in patients with hip or knee replacements are more similar to AFFs than to periprosthetic femoral fractures and are more likely in patients taking bisphosphonates.
  Medscape Medical News, October 2018
• Alternative Medicine Might Help Ease Psoriasis Symptoms Complementary and alternative medicine approaches might help relieve psoriasis symptoms, a research review suggests.
  Reuters Health Information, October 2018
• SPA 2018Low-Dose CT Better Measures Spondyloarthritis Bone Formation The progression of spondyloarthritis can be measured more accurately with low-dose CT than with radiography, new research shows.
  Medscape Medical News, October 2018
• More Evidence TNF Inhibitors Raise Risk of Peripheral Neuropathy A large epidemiological study provides more evidence of a link between tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) and peripheral neuropathy (PN).
  Reuters Health Information, October 2018
• Gout Drug May Protect Against Chronic Kidney Disease Allopurinol, used to manage gout, was not associated with renal function decline and may protect against development of chronic kidney disease.
  Medscape Medical News, October 2018
• IDWeekTop 5 New Antibiotics Advance to Fight Resistant Infections Five that are reaching the final trial stages and that target some of the most drug-resistant and deadly infections were spotlighted during a pipeline session at IDWeek.
  Medscape Medical News, October 2018
• SPA 2018Biologics Less Effective for Ankylosing Spondylitis in Women Women and men with ankylosing spondylitis respond differently to TNF inhibitor therapy, and researchers are trying to determine why that is.
  Medscape Medical News, October 2018
• SPA 2018Treat-to-Target Hot Debate in Ankylosing Spondyloarthritis Rheumatologists are questioning whether treat-to-target is good for patients with ankylosing spondyloarthritis or if precise guidelines should be avoided until the disease is better understood.
  Medscape Medical News, October 2018
• Arthritis Tied to Higher Risk for Anxiety, Depression 'The high prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression among adults with arthritis warrants awareness, screening, and subsequent treatment of these conditions,' researchers say.
  Medscape Medical News, October 2018
• Physical Therapy Noninferior to Surgery for Some Meniscal Tears A physical therapy-based conservative treatment approach was noninferior to arthroscopic repair in patients with nonobstructive meniscal tears, a study found.
  Medscape Medical News, October 2018