Painful Raynaud's mimics.

Raynaud's syndrome is a common finding in many autoimmune conditions. Accurately diagnosing Raynaud's, and differentiating it from mimicking conditions, is imperative in rheumatologic diseases. Raynaud's syndrome and Raynaud's mimickers, especially painful Raynaud's mimickers, can prove a diagnostic challenge for the practicing rheumatologist. Painful Raynaud's mimickers can lead to increased patient stress and unnecessary medical work up; Healthcare providers need to be aware of Raynaud's mimickers when evaluating patient concerns of skin color changes and pain. The present narrative review aims to highlight Raynaud's syndrome, important painful mimickers that may be seen, diagnosis, and updated management recommendations.

Dermatomyositis presenting with diffuse calcinosis.

We present the case of a woman in her early 50s who initially presented to an orthopedist for nodules located near the posterior knee. Imaging revealed diffuse subcutaneous calcifications and she was subsequently referred to rheumatology. Additional testing included myositis panel, electromyography (EMG) and muscle biopsy which indicated the presence of an inflammatory myopathy. It was determined that this patient had an uncommon presentation of dermatomyositis in which her primary complaint was calcinosis cutis. While rash and muscle weakness are often the symptoms most commonly associated with dermatomyositis, it is essential to have a wide differential for patients presenting with calcium deposition in soft tissues. This is particularly important in patients with certain antibodies, including the NXP-2 antibody, which can be associated with malignancy and should prompt an appropriate malignancy workup.

What Do Rheumatology Patients Want in an After-Visit Summary? A Kano Analysis of Patient Preferences.

BACKGROUND: After-visit summaries (AVS) are patient-specific documents curated by providers to summarize the content of medical encounters. Despite widespread use, little is known about rheumatology patient preferences for AVS content and style. The aims of this quality improvement project are to identify patient preferences and to design a rheumatology-specific AVS, using the Kano method. METHODS: This quality improvement project consists of 4 parts. First, investigators interviewed veterans and clinic staff to derive a list of potential features. Second, a Kano questionnaire assessing satisfaction with the presence or absence of each feature was distributed to veterans. Third, qualitative and quantitative Kano analyses were performed to categorize features as mandatory, performance, attractive, or indifferent. Fourthly, based on these findings, an AVS was drafted and distributed to Veterans with an associated survey to assess satisfaction with content, visual appeal, and readability. RESULTS: Nine physicians, 5 veterans, 5 schedulers, 3 nurses, and 3 medical assistants identified 15 features for inclusion in a Kano-style questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed to 50 Veterans using consecutive sampling. Quantitative Kano analysis demonstrated 4 mandatory, 2 performance, and 3 attractive features that were ultimately included in the AVS; 6 indifferent features were excluded. A postintervention survey of 50 Veterans showed high satisfaction scores in AVS content (4.3/5), visual appeal (4.6/5), and readability (4.4/5). CONCLUSIONS: We developed an AVS that included 9 mandatory, attractive, and performance features, as identified by the Kano method. Veterans were highly satisfied by the content, visual appeal, and readability of the AVS.