Exacerbation of Behcet's Disease and Pyoderma Gangrenosum Following COVID-19 Infection: A Case Report.

Behcet's disease (BD) and pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) are rare autoimmune inflammatory diseases that have been reported to relapse following COVID-19 infection. BD is a multisystemic syndrome that may involve multiple body organs. PG is a skin disease that can be a part of the skin involvement of BD.

An Unusual Case of Kidney Injury in a Young Woman with a Connective Tissue Disease.

A 32-year-old female was admitted to our institution with thrombocytopenia, fever, serositis, hepatosplenomegaly, diffuse lymphadenopathy, and renal insufficiency. A diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus was made. Due to recalcitrant thrombocytopenia, serositis, and renal insufficiency methylprednisolone was prescribed in high doses.

Efficacy of Cyclosporine in the Induction and Maintenance of Remission in a Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patient Presenting with Macrophage-Activating Syndrome.

Macrophage-activating syndrome (MAS) is a rare condition characterized by dysfunctional macrophage activation leading to overproduction of cytokines and phagocytosis of erythrocytes, leukocytes, and platelets. MAS is associated with infectious diseases, malignancies, and autoimmune rheumatic disorders. Herein, we present a 22-year-old Hispanic woman with SLE who was hospitalized because of a three-week history of fever, fatigue, polyarthralgia, nausea, and abdominal pain.

Severe systemic inflammatory response syndrome immediately after spinal surgery in a patient with axial gout.

We report a 55-year-old man with gouty arthritis who developed a 3-month history of low back pain, gradual lower extremities weakness and urinary incontinence. Lumbar MRI showed an exophytic lesion at L3-L4. Immediately after spinal decompression surgery, he developed fever, disorientation, polyarthritis, acute kidney injury and leucocytosis.

Inflammation in Osteoarthritis.

Advances in the understanding of chondrocytes and the synovial membrane as targets of and participants in the inflammatory process in articular joints have provided insights into the role of inflammation in cartilage and subchondral bone injury in rheumatic diseases. Reports that describe the inflammatory cellular infiltration of synovial membranes in patients with osteoarthritis, studies that associate cartilage structural injury with synovial membrane inflammatory status, the development of new imaging modalities that quantitatively measure synovial membrane inflammation and basic science advances that explore inflammatory pathways in the synovial cavity all suggest that inflammation plays an important role in cartilage injury in osteoarthritis. As a result there is a shift in the notion that osteoarthritis is a disease caused merely by mechanical forces that increase joint loading.

Pulmonary hemorrhage in a patient initially presenting with discoid lupus.

As a cutaneous variant of lupus erythematosus, discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) is thought to have a good prognosis; however, the involvement of internal organs with a transition to systemic disease may occur. The progression from DLE to systemic lupus erythematosus has been reported in up to 28% of patients. This progression to systemic disease has been associated with a benign course.

Rheumatology practice profiles in teaching and community settings in Puerto Rico: implications to subspecialty training.

Background: University-based fellowship training programs may not always provide the required experience to manage common and less complex medical conditions usually seen at the community setting. Few studies have addressed this concern.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the demographic features, diagnoses, and rheumatologic procedures in patients seen at the University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus Adult Rheumatology Training Program practice and 3 community-based rheumatology practices in Puerto Rico.

Reactive thrombocytosis: an early manifestation of Takayasu arteritis.

A woman with Takayasu arteritis is reported who presented with constitutional symptoms and persistent thrombocytosis documented since 3 years before the diagnosis. Disease-specific symptoms such as arm claudication, transient loss of vision, and self-remitting eye ptosis present at the time were apparently missed, because she is a non-English-speaking Hispanic woman whose history was obtained through an interpreter. Extensive workup done at the time failed to reach a definite etiology.