Higher scores on a measure of sinonasal symptoms can predict ANCA-associated vasculitis relapse “months to years” ahead of time, according data published in Arthritis Care & Research. The 22-item Sinonasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) could enhance prediction of relapse among high-risk patients and may be useful in selectively escalating or de-escalating immunosuppressive therapy, Ellen Romich, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues wrote. “Sinonasal symptoms are common in ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) and can negatively impact quality of life, but it can be ..read more

In this video exclusive, Leonard Calabrese, DO, chief medical editor of Healio Rheumatology, lays out the top stories out of the April issue, including the cover story centering on providers’ priorities regarding work-life balance. “This is really a riff on burnout,” Calabrese said. “It’s about intergenerational differences between practitioners and how we effect work-life balance. This sounds touchy-feely, but it’s the essence of making a happy career.” The issue also contains “a very nice review” of the state of CAR-T cell therapy for ..read more

When it comes to work-life balance, providers in the past skewed more toward work than life. However, shifting demographics in the medical workforce, increasing capacity for communication and the COVID-19 pandemic have fundamentally altered that calculus. “The expectation and acceptance that doctors should work all day and all week with no time for themselves and their families has definitely changed,” Maryam Lustberg, MD, MPH, director of the Breast Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale New Haven, and chief of breast medical oncology at the Yale Cancer Center, told Healio ..read more

Indications for the use of checkpoint inhibitors are ever expanding. However, even as these drugs have helped patients with cancer live longer, the emergence of various immune related adverse events limits their full potential in many. There is a pressing need for collaboration between various subspecialists, advanced practice providers and, above all, patients to facilitate the understanding of disease mechanisms, diagnosis and the best ways to manage these immune related adverse events (irAEs). To achieve this goal, the inaugural irAE Consortium was held at the Cleveland Clinic on March 7-8 ..read more

I recently had the pleasure of attending a symposium at the Cleveland Clinic that featured an outstanding review of immune-related adverse events, and I was reminded of how far we have come in the decade since I first became involved in the evolution of this disease class. For rheumatologists, this topic — which is covered elsewhere in this April issue of Healio Rheumatology by Alexa Meara, MD, a rheumatologist who spends the majority of her time caring and studying irAEs — represents a critically important group of disorders. In the early days, they seemed so rare that many of us ..read more

The power of biologics in treating rheumatoid arthritis bested the benefits of the Mediterranean diet in this year’s RheumMadness tournament, coming out ahead as the most “practically perfect” nugget to carry forward into practice. In the rheumatology-themed, March Madness-style online tournament, 16 trials went head-to-head through four rounds of voting to reveal which contained the most useful findings for everyday clinical practice. The tournament culminated in the NORD-STAR biologics trial halting the Cinderella run of ADIRA, a study of the Mediterranean diet in RA. The ..read more

BOSTON — “We should be embracing [AI] and trying to make this a priority to get this right, because I don’t know any alternative to get us out of this frustration right now outside of this technology,” Eric Topol, MD, said. “The opportunity is vast ... and we must eke out the advantages,” Topol, who is the Founder and Director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, said during the ACP Internal Medicine Meeting keynote. AI has already shown promise in medicine, particularly in specialties with advanced diagnostics and screening. “Every type of ..read more

Large volume infusion pump software related to the Ivenix Infusion System has been recalled by its manufacturer due to multiple potentially dangerous issues, according to a press release from the FDA. The FDA classified the recall by Fresenius Kabi USA as a class 1 recall, meaning use of the devices “may cause serious injuries or death.” No injuries or deaths associated with the software have been reported yet. The recall covers 17 devices in the United States that were distributed between March 6, 2023, and March 20, 2024. The Ivenix Infusion System is used by hospitals and other ..read more

As much as 43% of patients with systemic sclerosis are malnourished, while 33% demonstrate severe malnutrition, according to data from an Australian study published in Rheumatology. “People living with SSc are at risk for malnutrition from multiple different perspectives,” Jessica L. Fairley, MD, MPH, of the department of rheumatology at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, told Healio. “A huge number — up to 90% — have experienced gastrointestinal symptoms, plus there is a high prevalence of cardiopulmonary disease, as well as chronic ..read more

An automated algorithm designed to identify rheumatology patients who need to “shield” against COVID-19 demonstrated results that matched the “gold standard” of manual review in the majority of cases, according to data. “In April 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.K.’s Scientific Committee issued extreme social distancing measures termed ‘shielding,’” Meghna Jani, MRCP, MSc, PhD, of the University of Manchester, and colleagues wrote in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. “These were aimed at a subset of the U.K ..read more