Rituximab with or without a conventional maintenance agent in the treatment of relapsing granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's): a retrospective single-center study.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of rituximab (RTX) induction therapy and the duration of remission, when RTX is used with or without a conventional maintenance agent, in a cohort of patients with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's) (GPA).

Methods: This was a retrospective, single-center study of patients with relapsing GPA treated with at least 1 course of RTX (4 weekly doses of 375 mg/m(2) intravenously [IV] or 2 fixed doses of 1,000 mg IV 2 weeks apart). Complete remission was defined as the absence of disease activity measured by a Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score for Wegener's granulomatosis of 0 and not qualified by the prednisone dosage at the time.

Paraneoplastic rheumatologic syndromes.

Purpose Of Review: To describe rheumatic syndromes that can be a paraneoplastic manifestation of an underlying malignancy. The pathogenesis of paraneoplastic rheumatologic diseases is complex and not fully understood in the majority of instances. In the absence of a defined pathogenic link between the malignancy and the rheumatic syndrome, the association between these diseases has been based on concurrence and a parallel clinical course.

Perivascular carotid inflammation: an unusual case of carotidynia.

A 59-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital with a fever and rigors for 2 days. She was on chemotherapy (docetaxel, carboplatin, and trastuzumab) for her stage II invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast. Her physical exam was unremarkable except for the fever.