Pregnancy and the Autoimmune Patient.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This article will review the current understanding of the immunologic changes that occur during pregnancy. It will discuss the impact of pregnancy on the disease activity of autoimmune or inflammatory rheumatic diseases (AIRD). Lastly, it will highlight the most recent data on pre-conception and pregnancy management practices that can improve pregnancy outcomes in autoimmune patients. RECENT FINDINGS: Pregnancy is an immunologically complex and dynamic state that may affect the activity of AIRDs, with more patients having active disease during pregnancy than previously thought. Uncontrolled inflammatory diseases are associated with poor pregnancy outcomes such as preeclampsia, small for gestational age infants, and prematurity. Pre-conception counseling and early pregnancy planning discussions can help ensure optimal disease control and medication management prior to attempting conception. Adequate control of AIRDs on pregnancy-compatible medications during the pre-conception, pregnancy, and postpartum periods is required for optimal pregnancy outcomes.

Low Rates of Reproductive Counseling Documentation in Women With Interstitial Pneumonia With Autoimmune Features.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Women with interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features (IPAFs), a subset of interstitial lung disease (ILD), are at risk for pregnancy complications. Family planning discussions improve pregnancy outcomes in women with ILD. The objective of this study was to evaluate the documentation of reproductive counseling in IPAF female patients of childbearing age by pulmonary and rheumatology providers at an academic medical center. METHODS: We conducted a medical record review study of pulmonary and rheumatology encounters in reproductive-aged women with IPAF to evaluate documentation of family planning discussions and contraceptive use. We used nonparametric measures of association and logistic regression to evaluate the relationship between patient characteristics and the presence of reproductive counseling documentation by providers. RESULTS: Thirty-one women met IPAF classification and were ≤50 years at initial ILD clinic visit. Twenty-five (81%) of these women had risk factors for adverse pregnancy outcomes. Ten women (32%) had a record of reproductive counseling during any visit with their pulmonary provider. Of the 21 patients who also saw a rheumatology provider, 12 (57%) women had a record of reproductive counseling during any visit with their rheumatology provider. No baseline characteristics were associated with odds of reproductive counseling documentation. CONCLUSIONS: Neither pulmonary nor rheumatology providers consistently discussed family planning/contraceptive use with reproductive-aged women with IPAF. There was a trend for rheumatology providers to discuss reproductive issues with IPAF patients more frequently than pulmonary providers. Efforts should focus on educating providers about the need for reproductive counseling in women with IPAF of childbearing age.

Vertebral Subluxation and Systems Biology: An Integrative Review Exploring the Salutogenic Influence of Chiropractic Care on the Neuroendocrine-Immune System.

In this paper we synthesize an expansive body of literature examining the multifaceted influence of chiropractic care on processes within and modulators of the neuroendocrine-immune (NEI) system, for the purpose of generating an inductive hypothesis regarding the potential impacts of chiropractic care on integrated physiology. Taking a broad, interdisciplinary, and integrative view of two decades of research-documented outcomes of chiropractic care, inclusive of reports ranging from systematic and meta-analysis and randomized and observational trials to case and cohort studies, this review encapsulates a rigorous analysis of research and suggests the appropriateness of a more integrative perspective on the impact of chiropractic care on systemic physiology. A novel perspective on the salutogenic, health-promoting effects of chiropractic adjustment is presented, focused on the improvement of physical indicators of well-being and adaptability such as blood pressure, heart rate variability, and sleep, potential benefits that may be facilitated through multiple neurologically mediated pathways. Our findings support the biological plausibility of complex benefits from chiropractic intervention that is not limited to simple neuromusculoskeletal outcomes and open new avenues for future research, specifically the exploration and mapping of the precise neural pathways and networks influenced by chiropractic adjustment.

Identification of Functional Spo0A Residues Critical for Sporulation in Clostridioides difficile.

Clostridioides difficile is an anaerobic, Gram-positive pathogen that is responsible for C. difficile infection (CDI). To survive in the environment and spread to new hosts, C. difficile must form metabolically dormant spores. The formation of spores requires activation of the transcription factor Spo0A, which is the master regulator of sporulation in all endospore-forming bacteria. Though the sporulation initiation pathway has been delineated in the Bacilli, including the model spore-former Bacillus subtilis, the direct regulators of Spo0A in C. difficile remain undefined. C. difficile Spo0A shares highly conserved protein interaction regions with the B. subtilis sporulation proteins Spo0F and Spo0A, although many of the interacting factors present in B. subtilis are not encoded in C. difficile. To determine if comparable Spo0A residues are important for C. difficile sporulation initiation, site-directed mutagenesis was performed at conserved receiver domain residues and the effects on sporulation were examined. Mutation of residues important for homodimerization and interaction with positive and negative regulators of B. subtilis Spo0A and Spo0F impacted C. difficile Spo0A function. The data also demonstrated that mutation of many additional conserved residues altered C. difficile Spo0A activity, even when the corresponding Bacillus interacting proteins are not apparent in the C. difficile genome. Finally, the conserved aspartate residue at position 56 of C. difficile Spo0A was determined to be the phosphorylation site that is necessary for Spo0A activation. The finding that Spo0A interacting motifs maintain functionality suggests that C. difficile Spo0A interacts with yet unidentified proteins that regulate its activity and control spore formation.

Improving Knowledge of Lactation Compatibility of Antirheumatic Medications Among Providers Who Care for Patients With Rheumatic Disease.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to evaluate and improve knowledge of lactation compatibility of medications commonly used to treat rheumatic diseases among rheumatology, obstetric, and newborn providers practicing at an academic safety net hospital. METHODS: Baseline knowledge of rheumatic disease medication compatibility with lactation among 49 providers was obtained via a multiple-choice questionnaire. Following initial evaluation, providers were given a rheumatic diseases and lactation information card. The questionnaire was readministered at the time of card distribution and 5 months later. RESULTS: At baseline, more rheumatology providers correctly identified a higher number of lactation-compatible and noncompatible medications than nonrheumatology providers (78% and 65% vs 31% and 46%, respectively; P < 0.0001). After the intervention, rheumatology providers correctly identified lactation-compatible and noncompatible medications 98% and 100% of the time, compared with 78% and 65% of the time before the intervention (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.0001). This improvement was durable because rheumatology providers correctly identified lactation-compatible and noncompatible medications 96% and 98% of the time 5 months following the initial intervention (P = 0.0021 and P < 0.0001). Nonrheumatology providers correctly identified lactation-compatible and noncompatible medications 31% and 46% of the time before the intervention and 95% and 100% of the time after the intervention (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Rheumatology providers had better baseline knowledge than obstetric and newborn providers of the breastfeeding compatibility of medications used to treat rheumatic diseases. However, all providers had knowledge gaps. After a simple educational intervention, the knowledge gap was significantly narrowed in all provider groups. This improvement was durable because repeat testing of the rheumatology provider subset 5 months post intervention continued to show significant improvement.

Isolated adrenocorticotrophic hormone deficiency in a patient treated with checkpoint inhibitor therapy.

Treatment of advanced melanoma has significantly improved with the advent of checkpoint inhibitor therapy. With the widespread use of these agents, side effects are being increasingly recognized, including immune-related adverse events. We report the onset of adrenal insufficiency in a patient with advanced melanoma who was exposed to two checkpoint inhibitors: ipilimumab and nivolumab. His symptoms initially resolved with steroid replacement but he was unable to be weaned off hormone replacement and required long-term oral hydrocortisone treatment.

Perceptions of Pregnancy and Lactation from the Pregnancy and Lactation Autoimmune Network Registry.

OBJECTIVE: The Pregnancy and Lactation Autoimmune Network (PLAN) registry was established to evaluate the concerns of women with autoimmune or inflammatory rheumatic diseases (AIRD) pertaining to pregnancy and lactation. METHODS: The registry was started as a survey of patients with AIRD at a single rheumatology specialty center in November 2016 and included questions regarding fertility, pregnancy, miscarriages, and lactation before and after diagnosis. RESULTS: The study included 154 subjects from the PLAN registry. More than half (52%) of respondents indicated that their diagnosis negatively changed their views on pregnancy and nearly a third (30%) decided not to have children after AIRD diagnosis. Most (66%) women were concerned that medication use during the childbearing process would affect the baby. One-third (34%) indicated their views on breastfeeding negatively changed as a result of their disease diagnosis. The rates and duration of breastfeeding did not differ significantly for babies born before or after the mothers' diagnosis (p = 0.50 and p = 0.21, respectively). Eighteen women in our study avoided breastfeeding or stopped breastfeeding earlier than planned to start a medication (including etanercept, adalimumab, hydroxychloroquine, and certolizumab) they believed to be contraindicated during lactation. The PLAN registry included 19 women who breastfed 22 babies while being exposed to a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug or biologic. None of these 19 women reported a delay in their children's developmental milestones or higher infection rates. CONCLUSION: This study highlights an unmet need in patients with AIRD of childbearing potential for data and education regarding pregnancy and lactation.

Acute myocardial infarction triggered by use of synthetic cannabis.

A young woman presented with an anterior ST elevation myocardial infarction shortly after synthetic cannabis use. This report highlights the cardiovascular risks of these drugs.

Synthetic Cannabinoids.

Synthetic cannabinoids (SCBs), also known under the brand names of "Spice," "K2," "herbal incense," "Cloud 9," "Mojo" and many others, are becoming a large public health concern due not only to their increasing use but also to their unpredictable toxicity and abuse potential. There are many types of SCBs, each having a unique binding affinity for cannabinoid receptors. Although both Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and SCBs stimulate the same receptors, cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) and cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2), studies have shown that SCBs are associated with higher rates of toxicity and hospital admissions than is natural cannabis. This is likely due to SCBs being direct agonists of the cannabinoid receptors, whereas THC is a partial agonist. Furthermore, the different chemical structures of SCBs found in Spice or K2 may interact in unpredictable ways to elicit previously unknown, and the commercial products may have unknown contaminants. The largest group of users is men in their 20s who participate in polydrug use. The most common reported toxicities with SCB use based on studies using Texas Poison Control records are tachycardia, agitation and irritability, drowsiness, hallucinations, delusions, hypertension, nausea, confusion, dizziness, vertigo and chest pain. Acute kidney injury has also been strongly associated with SCB use. Treatment mostly involves symptom management and supportive care. More research is needed to identify which contaminants are typically found in synthetic marijuana and to understand the interactions between different SBCs to better predict adverse health outcomes.

Physician, heal thyself: health maintenance behaviors among physicians.

The goal of this article is to assess the need for health maintenance intervention programs directed at physicians and patients. We compared the health maintenance behavior compliance of physicians (as patients) to a control patient population. An online survey was sent to the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) medical school clinical and nonclinical basic science faculties and to the non-TTUHSC clinicians of the local county medical society. The survey included questions regarding basic demographics and recent participation in regular health maintenance strategies including annual checkup, influenza vaccination, colonoscopy, Pap smear, and mammogram. Logistic regressions were conducted to determine if being a physician had a significant association with the likelihood of participating in the health maintenance behavior outcomes listed above. This article shows that physicians are less likely than the general population to adhere to specific health maintenance guidelines: namely, annual checkups, colonoscopies, and mammograms. Pap smear rates did not differ between physicians and a control population, but physicians showed an increased likelihood of receiving an influenza vaccine.

Herpes Simplex Pneumonia in an Immunocompetent Patient With Progression to Organizing Pneumonia.

Background. Organizing pneumonia is an uncommon diffuse interstitial lung disease that affects the terminal and respiratory bronchioles, alveolar ducts, and alveoli. Most cases are idiopathic, but some are associated with infections. We present an uncommon case of organizing pneumonia associated with herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1). Case. A 39-year-old man with hypertension presented with dyspnea, fever, and productive cough for 2 weeks. He was treated for 5 days for acute bronchitis as an outpatient with no improvement. His examination revealed mild respiratory distress, O2 saturation 92% on room air, and right sided crackles. Labs included a white blood cell count of 19 300/µL. His chest x-ray showed bilateral infiltrates greater on the right. Bronchoalveolar lavage was positive for HSV-1; transbronchial biopsies showed focal pneumonitis with plentiful intra-alveolar macrophages. His respiratory status progressively deteriorated, and he was intubated for mechanical ventilation. He received 10 days of intravenous (IV) antibiotics and 14 days of IV acyclovir. He was readmitted 10 days later with worsening symptoms and was intubated for respiratory failure. His CT chest showed diffuse, patchy consolidation of both lungs, right more than left. Open lung biopsy showed extensive organizing pneumonia, diffuse alveolar damage, intra-alveolar macrophages, and pleural fibrosis; he was treated with IV corticosteroids. He was extubated after 10 days; within 2 weeks his chest x-ray was markedly improved. Discussion. Organizing pneumonia is usually idiopathic; infection is one of the secondary causes. To our knowledge this is only the second reported case associated with HSV. This association may have important pathogenic and therapeutic implications.