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High Lupus Flare and Complication Rates in Lupus Pregnancy

An incident cohort study from Denmark showed that 84 SLE pregnancies resulted in 62 live births.  Lupus disease activity strongly influenced maternal complications seen in half and fetal complications were observed in one-third of cases.

Conservative Equals Surgical Management of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

A randomized controlled trial of compared the outcomes of  surgical decompression or physical therapy in 169 lumbar spinal stenosis patients.  After two years, intention-to-treat analyses revealed no difference between groups.

Psoriatic Arthritis Occurs in 10-15% of Psoriasis Patients

Estimates on the prevalence of psoriatic arthritis among psoriasis patients has varied widely, ranging from 5-40%.  A systematic review of the literature shows that prevalence of undiagnosed PsA was 15.5% when all studies were considered and 10.1% when only epidemiological studies were consi

Brain Natriuretic Peptide Measurement in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Cardiovascular (CV) risk and adverse cardiac outcomes are common in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It has been presumed that chronic systemic inflammation has a deleterious effect on the myocardium and vasculature, thereby leading to higher rates of MI, CHF and CV death.

Intraarticular Hip Injection of Ketorolac Equals Steroid Responses

Using ultrasound guided intraarticular injection of the hip, 98 OA of the hip patients were randomized to receive IA ketorolac or triamcinolone. At, 1, 3, and 6 mos pain scale and Harris hip scores were improved equally in both groups with no statistical differences.

Thiazide Diuretics May Reduce Osteoporotic Fracture Risk

A large Swedish cohort study of hypertensive men and women presented at the 25th Scientific Meeting of the European Society of Hypertension, identitied a protective effect on osteoporotic fractures among current users of thiazide diuretic drugs independent of blood pressure level.  This retr

Targeting Autoantibodies in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis carries a high mortality rate and can be a management challenge. Moreover, exacerbations of IPF may be fatal. A multicenter uncontrolled study examined the utility of targeting autoantibody production with revealed surprising results.

Frequency of Infliximab Infusion Reactions

A Canadian registry shows that in community-based infusion clinics, infusion reactions to IFX are uncommon and mild to moderate in nature.

Benefits of Arthroscopic Surgery Questioned

A systematic review of the benefits and harms of arthroscopic knee surgery involving partial meniscectomy for middle-aged and older adults with knee pain and degenerative knee disease was recenttly published in BMJ. They found inconsequential benefits 3-6 months after surgery, but

Common HIPAA Mistakes in Practice

This review details nine of the most common compliance missteps physicians are making regarding protected health information (PHI). These errors may result in legal trouble, but are avoidable. These include:

DSB: EULAR 2015 Safety Reports

Biologic Use Curtails Sepsis Events. An analysis of the German biologics register, RABBIT, examined the effect of current biologic therapy on future risk of sepsis (#OP0161).

FDA News; Undeclared Dexamethasone Containing OTC Products

The FDA has issued public warnings that 4 over-the-counter products promoted for pain relief contain potentially harmful, undeclared dexamethasone. The supplements are Asihuri Plus Forte, Ginseng She Lian Wan, Jianbu Huqian Wan, and Saurean Fong Sep Lin.

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