Rheumatology
Clinical discussions on autoimmune diseases, biologic therapies, vasculitis, and musculoskeletal conditions.
Recent Discussions
What specific criteria or patient conditions would make you hesitant to use fluoroquinolones early in the treatment course for managing MSSA joint infections with oral antibiotics?
For MSSA joint infections, I have moved away from using FQ to using high-dose cephalosporins as a step-down therapy, particularly cefadroxil 1 g twice daily, given less frequent dosing/increased adherence. Considering the risk-benefit analysis, I prefer using FQ as an oral option in polymicrobial an...
How would you approach rituximab dosing in a patient with SLE-Myositis overlap with LN Class III, now with worsening UPCR and concern for worsening ILD 4 months post induction and incomplete B-Cell depletion on recent labs?
This is a challenging and concerning situation, as the patient is declining after rituximab. Without knowing which other medications have been tried, I would prioritize medications targeting life-threatening manifestations, i.e., the LN and ILD. In that case, I would start treatment with steroids, m...
How would you approach managing a patient with well-controlled RA on abatacept who develops a solid malignancy?
Ok- good question:I would switch to an IL6inhibiton and let oncology do their thing.Make sure they are on Plaquenil too. :)Also, if the patient is going to get traditional chemo - watch and wait, likely the RA will be controlled with blanket immunosuppression of chemotherapy.Petit et al., PMID 39241...
What strategies have you found most effective in improving long-term medication adherence in patients with SLE?
The most important long-term drug to have good adherence to is hydroxychloroquine.Soon after I began measuring HCQ drug levels in all my patients who were not in remission back in 2016, I was shocked at how many were not taking it very well (lived up to the low adherence numbers quoted in the litera...
When starting stress dose steroids for patient with primary adrenal insufficiency, how do you decide whether to start hydrocortisone 100 mg every 8 hours versus 50 mg every 6 hours?
Stress doses of steroids in patients with primary adrenal insufficiency depend on the anticipated stress. The dose of steroids can be doubled or tripled depending on the stress. For example, in cases of maximal stress such as major surgery, the dose can be similar to the dose used for an adrenal cri...
Would you have concerns using azathioprine in NXP-2 or TIF-1 gamma positive dermatomyositis patients due to higher risk of malignancy?
No studies have examined the effect of long-term azathioprine and the risk of malignancy in myositis. However, data from other autoimmune diseases (like lupus, myasthenia gravis, multiple sclerosis) have been negative in most cases (except perhaps for rheumatoid arthritis), and distinct from what is...
Would you have any concerns about starting an anti-TNF in RF and anti-CCP positive RA patients who also have high titer ANA?
No, I would not have any concerns. A patient with seropositive RA who demonstrates a positive ANA remains a patient with RA, not someone with an overlap connective tissue disease syndrome. Since a positive ANA can be seen in a sizable percentage of healthy people and among those treated with TNFi dr...
What therapies have you found most effective for JAK-induced/associated acne (JAKcne)?
Doxy will work quickly and is pretty safe. If all goes well, you can taper the dose of the oral antibiotic and use topical agents.
How do you evaluate and manage brain fog in patients with underlying rheumatic disease?
For Brain fog – Most important this is I stress to patients – there are likely MULTIPLE different things contributing to brain fog, so there are MULTIPLE different things we are going to have to work on to improve it. Active inflammation might be contributing, but there is likely several other facto...
How do you approach treatment of suspected CNS vasculitis with a negative work up?
Suspected CNS vasculitis is, simply put, extremely challenging, most often because the diagnosis is difficult to make. Commonly, the diagnosis is suspected based upon non-invasive imaging showing an unusual distribution of infarcts and/or evidence of intracranial arteriopathy (CTA or formal DSA). I ...