CASE STUDY 1 A 34-year-old woman is referred by her primary physician for musculoskeletal pain and stiffness involving joints and muscles which has been present for approximately 1 year, but…
INTRODUCTION Rheumatic diseases disproportionately affect women and, in some patients, may be serious enough to preclude consideration of pregnancy; however, with advances in rheumatology therapies and sophisticated reproductive technologies, increasing…
POLYMYALGIA RHEUMATICA A 72-year-old white woman requests urgent evaluation for increasing achiness of 6 weeks’ duration. Symptoms began shortly after a 3 day family reunion, during which time she “cooked…
Osteoporosis has been defined as a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by compromised bone strength predisposing to an increased risk of fracture. Bone strength is determined by many factors, including bone…
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…
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 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…
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…
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…
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…
