Gout and Crystal Deposition Disease
CASE STUDY 1 A 66-year-old man is seen in consultation for acute foot pain 3 days following partial colectomy with reanastomosis for diverticulitis. There had been no surgical complications. He…
Management of Osteoarthritis: Pharmacotherapy
INTRODUCTION Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common chronic joint disorder and is characterized by a degradative and repair process of cartilage and subchondral bone associated with synovial inflammation that may…
Septic Arthritis
Septic arthritis is a term often used to describe patients with an acute pyogenic joint infection due to a bacterial pathogen. The term may also be used in reference to…
Targeted Treatment of the Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies
A 52-year-old woman presented with a 2-week history of progressive joint and muscle pain with stiffness in the upper arm and leg musculature. She had been exercising regularly for years…
Management of CNS Vasculitis and Takayasu’s Arteritis
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM VASCULITIS A 34-year-old woman is admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) following presentation to the emergency department with slurred speech, right-sided arm and leg weakness, severe…
Management of Sarcoidosis, Behçet’s Disease, and Other Rare Rheumatic Diseases
SARCOIDOSIS Introduction Sarcoidosis is a multisystem inflammatory disease of uncertain etiology associated with the accumulation of noncaseating granulomas in clinically involved tissues and, occasionally, in asymptomatic tissues. This disease has…
Management of Medium and Small Vessel Vasculitis, Including the Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody–Associated Diseases
A male patient was diagnosed at 48 years of age with Wegener’s granulomatosis (WG) involving the sinuses, nose, and lungs. He was treated with daily cyclophosphamide and prednisolone for 1…
Management of Systemic Sclerosis and Raynaud’s Phenomenon
Systemic sclerosis or scleroderma (SSc) is a rare and complicated autoimmune disease that presents with many challenging therapeutic quandaries. In this chapter, we will discuss and examine these frequently encountered…
Management of the Antiphospholipid Syndrome
INTRODUCTION The antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is the association of thrombosis, pregnancy loss, and morbidity, and certain other clinical manifestations with antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) (lupus anticoagulant [LA], anticardiolipin antibodies [aCL], and/or…
Management of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Renal Disease
INTRODUCTION Renal involvement is one of the most serious clinical manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), contributing significantly to overall morbidity and mortality. Its prevalence in lupus varies from 31%…
