Rheum Advisor on Air

In this episode, rheumatologist John Fitzgerald, MD, and nurse practitioner Wendy Wright, DNP, discuss new treatment guidelines and how the collaboration between primary care and rheumatology can improve both acute and long-term management of gout.

In this episode, in collaboration with Neurology Advisor, rheumatologists Patricia Katz and Alfred Kim, and neurologist Daniel Barone, discuss the relationship between sleep disorders in rheumatic diseases, including risk factors for sleep disorders, the manifestation of these sleep disorders, and how these specialties can work together to improve diagnosis and care for this patient population.

Results of the COVAD study showed that three-quarters of patients with rheumatoid arthritis reported adverse events related the COVID-19 vaccination; however, the majority of them were minor in severity.

Shilpa Venkatachalam, PhD, MPH, director of Patient-Centered Research Operations and Ethical Oversight at Global Healthy Living Foundation, and Shubhasree Banerjee, MD, assistant professor of clinical medicine at Penn Medicine, discuss the factors associated with vaccine hesitancy and skepticism and the steps that clinicians can take to improve COVID-19 vaccine uptake rates.

To understand the gaps, challenges, and future opportunities in rheumatology research, we speak with the co-authors of a recent paper published in Arthritis & Rheumatology: Laura Lewandowski, MD, pediatric rheumatologist and assistant clinical investigator and head of the Lupus Genomics and Global Health Disparities Unit at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) at National Institutes of Health (NIH); Evelyn Hsieh, MD, associate professor of rheumatology and epidemiology at the Yale School of Medicine and the chief of rheumatology at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System; and Chris Scott, MBChB, head of pediatric rheumatology at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital and University of Cape Town in South Africa.

Drs Allan Gibofsky and David Goldberg discuss legal considerations in the practice of telemedicine in the specialties of rheumatology and dermatology.

Gout has often been known for its predominance among men. While it is true that risk for gout is 3 times higher among men vs women due to high uric acid levels, postmenopausal women especially form a significant percentage of a population with symptoms of unaddressed gout and a disproportionate worsening in disease burden. For Arthritis Awareness Month and ahead of Gout Awareness Day, Angelo L. Gaffo, MD, discusses the importance of addressing the prevalence and impact of gout among women and improving provider and patient education in this regard.

Pain – the main manifestation of many rheumatic diseases, but also the most underappreciated, leads to worse disease outcomes and affects the quality of life of patients. Over the last decade or so, animal models and modern technology have highlighted the complex mechanisms that underlie chronic pain in rheumatology. To get further insight on the various aspects of chronic pain, we speak with Don L. Goldenberg, MD, about its pathophysiology and diagnostic classification criteria for chronic pain conditions. Deeba Minhas, MD, provides a perspective on addressing implicit biases among patients with rheumatic disease and pain.

Feelings of stress, fatigue, and exhaustion – what is being described as "burnout" – have become a common occurrence among providers, including rheumatologists, with important implications in clinical practice. Various surveys and studies have reported a substantial prevalence of burnout (approximately 50%) among rheumatology providers. Beth L. Jonas, MD, Reeves Foundation Distinguished Professor of Medicine and chief of the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Immunology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, joins us on this episode to provide deeper insight on the issue of "burnout" from a clinical practice standpoint.

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis and lupus are the most common rheumatic diseases in children. However, more than 500,000 children develop other rheumatic diseases. The diagnosis, treatment, and management of these conditions often require a multidisciplinary approach owing to the diverse clinical manifestations that present in this patient population. In light of Rare Disease Day 2022, we spoke with Emily von Scheven, MD, a pediatric rheumatologist at the University of California San Francisco Benioff Children's Hospital and the executive committee chair of CARRA, and Vincent Del Gaizo, director of partnerships and patient engagement for CARRA and a parent of a pediatric patient with rheumatic disease.

Rheumatologists and neurologists are known to manage and collaborate between their specialties in the care of patients with shared diagnoses, such as disorders of the central nervous system, like giant cell arthritis and neuropsychiatric lupus. In this episode, done in collaboration with Neurology Advisor, neurologist Michael Kornberg, MD, and rheumatologist Laura C. Cappelli, MD, discuss the management of patients with rheumatologic conditions with neurologic manifestations, including defining the term "neurorheumatology," encouraging better collaboration between the 2 specialties, and improving access to care for this patient population.

The importance of patient perspectives, ie, the behaviors, concerns, and experiences of patients with rheumatic conditions, and patient-reported outcomes, were highlighted through several studies presented at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Convergence 2021. In this episode, Shilpa Venkatachalam, PhD, MPH, and Betty Hsiao, MD, discuss research carried out by their respective teams emphasizing the role of the patient voice in rheumatology research and clinical practice.

The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Convergence held in November 2021 included several important abstracts and sessions in gout research. In this episode, Ada Kumar, MD, of Horizon Therapeutics, and Suneet Grewal, MD, of East Bay Rheumatology Medical Group, provide an overview of the compelling news and research in gout, as presented at the ACR annual meeting.

There were several interesting research papers, posters, abstracts, and presentations on the diagnosis and treatment of lupus at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Convergence 2021, including the Great Debate that was about the use of voclosporin vs belimumab as add-on therapy in lupus nephritis. Karen Costenbader, MD, provides a comprehensive roundup of all the exciting and compelling news and research in lupus, as presented at ACR annual meeting.

Uveitis has been recognized as the most common extra-articular manifestation and potentially sight-threatening complication of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). The most common form of JIA-associated uveitis (JIA-U) is chronic anterior uveitis, which is initially asymptomatic but may lead to visual disability. JIA-U can extend into adulthood and have significant ocular morbidity as well. In this episode of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Convergence 2021 series, Mara Becker, MD, discusses the management of JIA-associated uveitis in adults, including collaboration with ophthalmologists, transition from pediatric rheumatology care, screening frequency, and treatment options.

There were some exciting and clinically meaningful research in scleroderma/systemic sclerosis presented by experts at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Convergence 2021. Tracy Frech, MD, provides a comprehensive overview of the studies presented at the ACR meeting this year, by categorizing them into 5 categories: practice pearls, treatment updates, pediatrics, outcome measures, and COVID-19-related research.

Health care disparities in rheumatology have been shown to have a significantly negative effect on quality of life and patient outcomes. There are several factors that drive health inequities in the US, including race, ethnicity, and socioeconomics, such as education, health care access, and income. In the first episode of the ACR Convergence 2021 series, we speak with rheumatologist Iris Y. Navarro-Millán, MD, who provides a deeper insight into understanding social determinants of health as drivers of health disparities in rheumatology and urges researchers and clinicians to look beyond just race and ethnicity when addressing these disparities.

Stay tuned for season 2 of the Rheum Advisor on Air podcast!

The recent US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of anifrolumab for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) came a decade after the approval of human monoclonal antibody belimumab. In this episode of the Rheumatology Advisor podcast, we speak with Mary K. Crow, MD, who provides a deeper insight into the evolution of lupus treatments over the years, with a focus on history, barriers in research, information regarding the anifrolumab approval, and the future of drug development in SLE. We also present the perspectives of a patient with lupus; Christele Felix serves as a Patient Advocate for Lupus Studies (PAL) for the Lupus Research Alliance, provides peer support for those interested in learning about clinical trials in lupus, and has presented on various topics, including health disparities, at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) annual conference.

According to multiple studies and surveys, 50% to 80% of individuals continue to have lingering symptoms approximately 3 months after the onset of COVID-19. Now, musculoskeletal symptoms are becoming common lasting symptoms among "COVID-19 long haulers." In this episode of the Rheumatology Advisor podcast, guest hosts Tylar Stanley and Samiha Tamboo have a conversation with Swati Deshmukh, MD, a musculoskeletal radiologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and assistant professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School, about "long COVID," including evidence of musculoskeletal symptoms, and its effect on patients with rheumatologic disease.