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.