Rheumatology News CME

• FDA Safety Changes: Prevpac, Arava, Treanda CME/CE The FDA has approved safety labeling revisions for a prepackaged regimen of lansoprazole, amoxicillin, and clarithromycin tablets; leflunomide tablets; and bendamustine HCl intravenous infusion.
  Medscape Medical News CME, July 2009
• FDA Safety Changes: Sarafem, Mavik, Cordarone CME/CE The FDA has approved safety labeling revisions for deferasirox tablets for fluoxetine HCl (Sarafem tablets), trandolapril (Mavik tablets), and amiodarone HCl (Cordarone tablets).
  Medscape Medical News CME, June 2009
• Surgery May Relieve Pain of Degenerative Spondylolisthesis CME A study shows that patients choosing surgery for degenerative spondylolisthesis with spinal stenosis have substantially greater relief from pain with time vs those who do not have surgery.
  Medscape Medical News CME, June 2009
• Hydroxychloroquine Use May Be Safe in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus CME A systematic review suggests that hydroxychloroquine should be given to most patients with systemic lupus erythematosus during the whole course of the disease and should be continued during pregnancy.
  Medscape Medical News CME, June 2009
• EULAR 2009: New Diagnostic Recommendations for Knee Osteoarthritis CME New EULAR recommendations for the diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis focus on simple measures, including clinical examination and plain radiography.
  Medscape Medical News CME, June 2009
• FDA Approvals: Risperdal Consta and Cimzia CME/CE The FDA has approved new indications for risperidone long-acting injection (Risperdal Consta) and certolizumab pegol (Cimzia).
  Medscape Medical News, May 2009
• Sustained Benefits Seen With Combination Drug Therapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis CME/CE Finnish researchers say that use of a combination of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs vs just a single one of these drugs to treat early rheumatoid arthritis results in higher long-term remission rates.
  Reuters Health Information, May 2009
• Actual or Simulated Acupuncture Therapy May Be Effective for Chronic Low Back Pain CME/CE In a randomized trial, individually tailored acupuncture, standard acupuncture, and a simulation using toothpicks at key acupuncture points were each more effective than usual care for chronic low back pain.
  Medscape Medical News, May 2009
• FDA Safety Changes: Axert, Tarka, Macrobid, Macrodantin CME/CE The FDA has approved safety labeling revisions for almotriptan malate tablets (Axert), verapamil HCl/trandolapril tablets (Tarka), and nitrofurantoin monohydrate/macrocrystals capsules (Macrobid and Macrodantin).
  Medscape Medical News, May 2009
• Zoledronic Acid Infusion Effective for Bone Loss Linked With Glucocorticoid Use CME In a randomized trial, a single 5-mg intravenous infusion of zoledronic acid was more acceptable to patients vs 5 mg of oral risedronate daily to prevent and treat glucocorticoid-related bone loss.
  Medscape Medical News, April 2009
• FDA Safety Changes: Luvox/Luvox CR, Altace, Capozide, Monopril/Monopril HCT, Furadantin CME/CE The FDA has approved revisions to the safety labeling for fluvoxamine, ramipril, captopril plus hydrochlorothiazide, fosinopril, fosinopril plus hydrochlorothiazide, and nitrofurantoin.
  Medscape Medical News, April 2009
• Adding Etanercept to Methotrexate May Improve Outcomes in Rheumatoid Arthritis CME In a randomized controlled trial, early treatment with etanercept and methotrexate led to significantly greater improvements in patient-reported outcomes vs treatment with methotrexate alone.
  Medscape Medical News, March 2009
• Weight Loss May Not Help Prevent Progression of Knee Osteoarthritis With Varus Alignment CME A study shows that obesity is a risk factor for incident knee osteoarthritis but that there is no overall relationship between obesity and the progression of knee osteoarthritis.
  Medscape Medical News, March 2009
• FDA Safety Changes: Celebrex, Crixivan, Rifater CME/CE The FDA has approved revisions to the safety labeling for celecoxib capsules (Celebrex), indinavir sulfate tablets (Crixivan), and isoniazid plus pyrazinamide and rifampin tablets (Rifater).
  Medscape Medical News, March 2009
• Vitamin C Supplementation May Help Prevent Gout CME A prospective study shows that higher vitamin C intake is independently associated with a lower risk for gout.
  Medscape Medical News, March 2009
• AHA Updates Advice on Strep Throat, Preventing Rheumatic Fever CME New advice on preventing rheumatic fever by the appropriate diagnosis and treatment of acute streptococcal pharyngitis has been published in a scientific statement from the American Heart Association.
  Medscape Medical News, March 2009
• FDA Approvals: Symbicort and Synvisc-One CME/CE The FDA has approved a new indication for budesonide/formoterol fumarate dihydrate inhalation aerosol (Symbicort) and a new formulation for hylan G-F 20 (Synvisc-One).
  Medscape Medical News, March 2009
• TNF Inhibitors May Increase Shingles Risk CME Drugs that inhibit tumor necrosis factor-alpha have already been associated with serious infectious complications, and investigators say shingles should now be added to the list.
  Medscape Medical News, February 2009
• No Benefit to Routine Imaging for Low Back Pain Without "Red Flags" CME A new meta-analysis of randomized trials finds no benefit to routine lumbar imaging for low back pain on clinical outcomes without indications of serious underlying conditions.
  Medscape Medical News, February 2009
• More Evidence That NSAIDs are Harmful to Heart-Failure Patients CME A new study offers additional evidence that even commonly used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are harmful to patients with heart failure.
  Medscape Medical News, February 2009