US research shows that the use of opioids, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or glucocorticoids may increase the risk for all types of osteoporotic fracture in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

US research shows that the use of opioids, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or glucocorticoids may increase the risk for all types of osteoporotic fracture in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Patients regularly using opioids in 2014 were younger than those who used the drugs intermittently or did not use opioids (67.3 vs 70.8 and 71.8 years), and a higher proportion of regular users were female (80.0 vs 76.4 and 75.0%) or of Black ethnicity (12.0 vs 9.2 and 7.9%).

Nearly all patients with myositis report current or past pain, which is often treated with opioids, shows a survey by the patient-led advocacy organization Myositis Support and Understanding.

A monthly selection of topical peer-reviewed articles from the Adis journals, curated by the editors.

How can rheumatologists respond to the challenges associated with rituximab use during the pandemic?

A systematic review and network meta-analysis has compared different drug treatments for pain relief in people with knee or hip osteoarthritis, finding that certain NSAIDs may have the greatest benefit, while opioids are associated with increased risk for harm.

3–9 November: Keep up with the latest news and interviews from the conference.

Just under a third (31%) were using benzodiazepines or Z-drugs chronically and nearly a quarter (24%) were on opioids.

Perspective on the approval of anifrolumab and the importance of endpoints in lupus trials.

Guanghua Lei (Central South University, Changsha, China) and colleagues found that 52.2% of the 694 people who underwent bariatric surgery received a prescription for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, opioids, or acetaminophen (paracetamol) during a mean follow-up of 2.19 years, compared with 62.0% of the 587,800 who did not during a mean follow-up of 3.24 years.

People with inflammatory rheumatic diseases, particularly rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis, have a higher comorbidity burden than people without these conditions, even in the early stages of the disease, researchers report.

5 – 9 November: Preview the conference with session recommendations and updates on upcoming coverage.

How will the FAST trial results impact regulatory guidance & clinical practice?

Experts discuss the increasing use of telemedicine in rheumatology during the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than half of people with knee or hip osteoarthritis who receive opioids during their first year after diagnosis should not have been prescribed them, with inappropriate long-term use also common, study findings indicate.

People who used opioids intermittently had an intermediate rate of revision surgery within 30 days, at 0.32%.

Over a 1-year period, around one in four individuals with hip and/or knee osteoarthritis received opioids for pain management, compared with approximately one in 10 people without such a diagnosis, finds a Swedish population-based study.

Furthermore, the effect sizes for some of the doses tested were “substantially greater than those reported with acetaminophen, opioids, and some NSAIDs [nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs],” Gregory Geba (Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Tarrytown, New York, USA) and co-authors report in Arthritis & Rheumatology .

Mortality rates are significantly higher during the first year after a tramadol prescription than after prescription of common nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, but it is unclear whether the relationship is causal, say researchers.