Rheumatology: What You May Have Missed in 2023.

Many patients with rheumatologic conditions receive care from physicians other than rheumatologists. Here we note key findings from 6 studies in rheumatology published in 2023 that offer valuable insights for internal medicine specialists and subspecialists outside of rheumatology. The first study investigated the effect of low-dose glucocorticoids on patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) over 2 years and challenged existing perceptions about the risks of glucocorticoids in this setting. The second study focused on the updated guideline for preventing and treating glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis. With the chronic and widespread use of glucocorticoids, the American College of Rheumatology emphasized the importance of assessing fracture risk and initiating pharmacologic therapy when appropriate. The third study explored the potential use of methotrexate in treating inflammatory hand osteoarthritis, suggesting a novel approach to managing this challenging and common condition. The results of the fourth article we highlight suggest that sarilumab has promise as an adjunct treatment of polymyalgia rheumatica relapse during glucocorticoid dosage tapering. The fifth study evaluated sublingual cyclobenzaprine for fibromyalgia treatment, noting both potential benefits and risks. Finally, the sixth article is a systematic review and meta-analysis that assessed the therapeutic equivalence of biosimilars and reference biologics in the treatment of patients with RA. Knowledge of this recent literature will be useful to clinicians regardless of specialty who care for patients with these commonly encountered conditions.

Pontine Infarction and Vertebral Artery Dissecting Aneurysm as the First Presentation of Behçet's Disease: A Case Report.

Behçet's disease (BD) is a systemic disease of inflammatory origin that appears most often in the third or fourth decade of life. Behçet's disease is hallmarked predominantly by mucocutaneous lesions and ocular involvement. Vertebral artery dissection and neurological manifestations are rare complications in Behçet's disease. We examine the case of a medically free 33-year-old male who was admitted to the emergency department complaining of sudden-onset dizziness, vomiting, and tinnitus. Neurological examination revealed fluctuating consciousness, multiple gaze nystagmus, motor deficit in the upper and lower limbs, bilateral Babinski sign, and truncal ataxia. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a right pontine hyperintense lesion on T2-weighted images (T2WI). A right vertebral angiogram four months after the incident showed a dissection in the mid-cervical third of an anomalous duplicated origin arm of the right vertebral artery. This case describes an uncommon form of initial presentation of Behçet's disease via a pontine infarction triggered by a dissecting aneurysm in an anatomically rare variant of the vertebral artery.

Arterio-Venous Thrombosis and Spontaneous Bleeding in COVID-19-Associated Coagulopathy: A Case Report.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome which was declared a global pandemic in 2019 causing significant morbidities and mortalities. COVID-19 is a multi-systemic disease and is not primarily limited to the respiratory system. Thrombus formation is one of its distinct features. However, renal complications associated with COVID-19 are rarely reported in the literature due to limited occurrence and research. We report a rare case of right retroperitoneal hematoma in a COVID-19 patient. We report a 51-year-old male patient who was received at the emergency department (ED). The patient was positive for COVID-19 and had a Glasgow coma scale of 12/15. The patient was initially managed on IV anticoagulation due to cavernous sinus thrombosis and was placed on mechanical ventilation which helped him to improve. After two weeks, a sudden drop in hemoglobin was observed. CT scan of abdomen and pelvis showed the presence of a right retroperitoneal hematoma, and right renal artery non-occlusive filling defect. The patient was successfully managed with conservative treatment. Retroperitoneal hematoma although a rare occurrence in COVID-19 patient should be observed and monitored closely in case of bleeding or anemia, as early management and intervention is beneficial.

Discontinuation of anticoagulant therapy for a month in a patient with HeartMate III continuous-flow left ventricular assist device without thromboembolic events.

The recommended anticoagulation regimen for continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (LVAD) systems is warfarin and aspirin with a targeted international normalized ratio (INR) of 2.0-3.0. Our patient is a 58-year-old male who underwent surgical HeartMate III continuous-flow LVAD implantation 3 months ago outside the country. The patient mistakenly stopped taking warfarin for 1 month prior to presenting to our center for a routine visit. Luckily, the patient was doing very well without any complication despite the fact that his INR was 1.0.