Rheumatology

Most studies have evaluated PsA-associated fatigue in western populations. A new study has highlighted that PsA-associated fatigue is also prevalent in an Asian population and correlates with disease activity, impact, and chronicity.

New real-world data shows 64% of patients with psoriatic arthritis who had previously been on a biologic stayed on secukinumab for the duration of the study.

Just like in clinical trials, a real-world analysis of patients with psoriatic arthritis who were treated with secukinumab achieved minimal disease activity, as well as other improvements.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), because inflammation plays a pivotal role in the development of CVD. However, there is a need for greater improvement of CVD risk prevention.

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, clinics have closed to varying degrees. As clinics look to reopen or welcome back patients after a COVID-19 infection, the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) has released advice on strategies for reopening practices as the pandemic continues.

Patients who have both skin and joint symptoms with psoriatic arthritis have greater disease burden and worse quality of life compared with patients who have joint-only involvement.

In children with inflammatory rheumatic diseases, tocilizumab can cause serious adverse events (AEs), with children who were younger at disease onset and at time of tocilizumab initiation especially affected.

In 2 studies of secukinumab use in real-world settings, researchers identified the usefulness of dose escalation in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), as well as the safety, retention rate, and factors associated with drug survival among patients with PsA and ankylosing spondyloarthritis.

Psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis have high economic burdens and the total annual costs were similar between the 2 diseases, but the combination of both yielded the highest costs, according to an abstract published at the European League Against Rheumatism annual meeting.

Although early diagnosis of axial spondyloarthritis is crucial for patients to receive timely access to care and effective treatment, these patients experience a diagnostic delay of more than 7 years, on average.

Clinical trial result revealed that upadacitinib may be more effective in treating patients with rheumatoid arthritis than the gold standard of care, methotrexate.

Treatment options for psoriatic arthritis and axial spondyloarthritis are increasing, and with studies already identifying response predictors for tumor necrosis factor inhibitors, there is a need to predict response to the interleukin-17A inhibitor secukinumab.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency has led to an increased use of telemedicine services as CMS instituted reimbursement parity with in-person services. In a new position statement, the American College of Rheumatology has stated support for continuing to use telemedicine once the COVID-19 emergency passes.

Among patients with rheumatic diseases, medication nonadherence remains a significant problem because of a lack of standardization and guidance on terminology, measurement, and outcome selection, according to an abstract presented at the European Congress of Rheumatology of the European League Against Rheumatism.

While biologics may have improved outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), they also have higher costs and adverse events, and patients are more likely to request dose reductions or drug holidays.

Despite advances in therapeutics and treatment strategies for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) that impact well-being, patients in clinical remission still report reduced well-being, according to an abstract presented at the European Congress of Rheumatology of the European League Against Rheumatism.

Based on the safety and efficacy outcomes from the PREVENT phase 3 study, the FDA has approved secukinumab (Cosentyx) from Novartis for the treatment of active nonradiographic axial spondyloarthritis.

Measuring disease activity is a key aspect of rheumatologic care, but the creation of tools designed specifically for disease areas of interest has resulted in fragmentation and multiple disease activity scores, sometimes even just for a single disease.

Two abstracts presented at the European Congress of Rheumatology of the European League Against Rheumatism reviewed long-term safety data and real-life effectiveness and safety of secukinumab for ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis.

Recommendations that patients with rheumatoid arthritis see an expert within 6 weeks of symptom onset can provide challenges for practices.

Drugs used to treat rheumatic conditions suppress the rogue immune system, but it has been unclear whether patients using immunosuppressants have an increased risk of a more severe course if they are infected with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

New therapies for autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis (RA) highlight the potential of metabolic targets. A recent study highlights some of the most promising targets.

Erin L. Arnold, MD, FACR, of Orthopaedics and Rheumatology of the North Shore in Skokie, IL, discusses evolving treatment strategies and the use of biologic therapies in the management of psoriatic disease.

Catching psoriatric arthritis (PsA) early has been a challenge even when the diagnosis is aided by sonography, according to the authors.

For patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), cost can play a role in patient adherence to medication, but the presence of comorbidities does not impact cost of care for patients, according to 2 abstracts presented at the Virtual 2020 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research meeting.

Jerry Bagel, MD, director of the Psoriasis Treatment Center of New Jersey, sheds light on the clinical utility of newer classes of biologic agents in the management of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) must be updated to reflect the fact that some patients discontinue biologics and swap in other products, the authors concluded.

Although patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are increasingly being used to understand treatment effectiveness, there is still a lot unknown about what measures patients find most important. Two abstracts presented at the American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting evaluated PROs in rheumatology and how PRO measures can be used in clinical care.

Pain is common in patients with rheumatologic diseases, and 2 abstracts presented at the American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting analyzed opioid use in these patients, examining patient features associated with chronic use and changing opioid use patterns in the wake of the opioid epidemic.

Exercise can be a potent therapy for patients with rheumatologic diseases and can result in improvements in inflammation, disease activity score, pain, stiffness, and fatigue. However, exercise needs to be modified for these patients to address the unique barriers they may have compared with the general population, said panelists during a session at the American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting.