Understanding Stakeholders' Perspectives to Increase COVID-19 Vaccine and Booster Uptake Among Black Individuals With Rheumatic Conditions.

OBJECTIVE: Disparities in COVID-19 vaccine and booster uptake persist. This study aimed to obtain perspectives from community and physician stakeholders on COVID-19 vaccine and booster hesitancy and strategies to promote vaccine uptake among Black individuals with rheumatic and musculoskeletal conditions. METHODS: We invited community leaders and physicians in greater Boston and Chicago to participate in semi-structured interviews using a moderator guide developed a priori. Participants were queried about how to best address vaccine hesitancy, strategies to target high-risk populations, and factors to identify future community leaders. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed thematically using Dedoose. RESULTS: A total of 8 physicians and 12 community leaders participated in this study between November 2021 and October 2022. Qualitative analyses revealed misinformation/mixed messaging and mistrust, with subthemes including conspiracy theories, concerns regarding vaccine development and function, racism and historical injustices, and general mistrust of health care systems as the top cited reasons for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Participants also shared demographic-specific differences, such as race, ethnicity, age, and gender that influenced the identified themes, with emphasis on COVID-19 vaccine access and apathy. Strategies for community-based vaccine-related information dissemination included personal storytelling with an iterative and empathetic approach, while recognizing the importance of protecting community leader well-being. CONCLUSION: To increase vaccine uptake among Black individuals with rheumatic conditions, strategies should acknowledge and respond to racial/ethnic and socioeconomic injustices that engender vaccine hesitancy. Messaging should be compassionate, individually tailored, and recognize heterogeneity in experiences and opinions. Results from these analyses will inform a planned community-based intervention in Boston and Chicago.

Clinical Characteristics of Hydralazine-induced Lupus.

Introduction The use of hydralazine has been associated with the development of lupus erythematosus and lupus-like syndromes. We performed this retrospective study to identify clinical characteristics of individuals who developed hydralazine-induced lupus. Material and methods We performed a single-center retrospective review of seven individuals who had a diagnosis of hydralazine-induced lupus by International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD9) code and were on hydralazine prior to their diagnosis. Clinical and laboratory data were obtained from a review of the medical record up to 12-month follow-up. Results Of the seven individuals with hydralazine-induced lupus, five were Caucasian (71%) and two were African-American. The mean age at the time of diagnosis was 62 years. Four (57%) were male. The majority of individuals were exposed to hydralazine for more than 12 months (83%). Four individuals had biopsy-proven lupus nephritis and four individuals had cardiopulmonary and skin involvement. Six patients were positive for antinuclear antibody (ANA) with a homogenous pattern, and five of those were positive for anti-histone antibody. Additionally, positive anti-double-stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA) antibody, anti-cardiolipin antibodies, low complements, positive lupus anticoagulant, and leukopenia were seen in 42% of our cohort. Of the five individuals in whom anti-myeloperoxidase (MPO) antibody was strongly positive, all had renal involvement defined by an elevated creatinine with three having biopsy-proven lupus nephritis. Three other individuals with MPO positivity had concurrent cardiopulmonary and skin involvement. Four individuals were positive for anti-proteinase 3 (PR3) antibody, three of whom were strongly positive with renal involvement defined by an elevated creatinine with two having biopsy-proven lupus nephritis. The level of anti-dsDNA antibody and anti-PR3 antibody normalized at three months while anti-MPO antibody took 12 months to normalize following cessation of hydralazine. When checked, low complement component 3 (C3) and anti-histone antibody persisted past 12 months. In addition to the withdrawal of hydralazine, six individuals were treated with hydroxychloroquine and five with mycophenolate mofetil. Three of four individuals with renal involvement received plasmapheresis and two received cyclophosphamide and hemodialysis. Conclusion Hydralazine can aggravate and unmask incipient lupus. Since the presentation can be varied, early recognition of symptoms is critical. Precautions should be taken before initiating this medication in individuals with certain risk factors. Once diagnosed, potential serological findings such as a positive anti-MPO/anti-PR3 antibody could predict more severe manifestations such as pulmonary-renal complications.

Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Rheumatoid Arthritis.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To determine the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) on clinical and patient-reported outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RECENT FINDINGS: We identified randomized clinical trials from inception through April 2018 from MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, and hand searches. After screening 338 references, we included five trials with one post-hoc analysis that evaluated MBIs and collectively included 399 participants. Outcome instruments were heterogeneous across studies. Three studies evaluated RA clinical outcomes by a rheumatologist; one study found improvements in disease activity. A limited meta-analysis found no statistically significant difference in the levels of DAS28-CRP in the two studies that evaluated this metric (- 0.44 (- 0.99, 0.12); I2 0%). Four studies evaluated heterogeneous psychological outcomes, and all found improvements including depressive symptoms, psychological distress, and self-efficacy. A meta-analysis of pain Visual Analog Scale (VAS) levels post intervention from three included studies was not significantly different between MBI participants and control group (- 0.58 (- 1.26, 0.10); I2 0%) although other studies not included in meta-analysis found improvement. There are few trials evaluating the effect of MBIs on outcomes in patients with RA. Preliminary findings suggest that MBIs may be a useful strategy to improve psychological distress in those with RA.

Double-positive with positive anti-glomerular basement membrane antibody and ANCA-positive disease in a patient with dermatomyositis.

Approximately one in four patients (23.3%) with inflammatory myositis including dermatomyositis can require evaluation for acute kidney injury. The main cause of kidney injury is acute tubular necrosis from medications or myoglobinuria, though clinicians should be aware of a wide variety of possible aetiologies. We present the case of a 44-year-old woman with stable anti-Jo1 dermatomyositis, who presented with acute kidney injury. During her hospital course, she was diagnosed with double-positive disease characterised by circulating anti-glomerular basement membrane antibody and myeloperoxidase antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody and renal biopsy revealing crescentic glomerulonephritis with linear staining of capillary wall for IgG.

Noninflammatory gluten peptide analogs as biomarkers for celiac sprue.

New tools are needed for managing celiac sprue, a lifelong immune disease of the small intestine. Ongoing drug trials are also prompting a search for noninvasive biomarkers of gluten-induced intestinal change. We have synthesized and characterized noninflammatory gluten peptide analogs in which key Gln residues are replaced by Asn or His. Like their proinflammatory counterparts, these biomarkers are resistant to gastrointestinal proteases, susceptible to glutenases, and permeable across enterocyte barriers. Unlike gluten peptides, however, they are not appreciably recognized by transglutaminase, HLA-DQ2, or disease-specific T cells. In vitro and animal studies show that the biomarkers can detect intestinal permeability changes as well as glutenase-catalyzed gastric detoxification of gluten. Accordingly, controlled clinical studies are warranted to evaluate the use of these peptides as probes for abnormal intestinal permeability in celiac patients and for glutenase efficacy in clinical trials and practice.