SAN DIEGO – Be mindful of what lies below the skin.
That was the message of Joseph Merola, MD, during a session on “rheumatology for the dermatologist” at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.
“The idea is really to start to try to get our dermatology colleagues thinking more systemically and outside of just the skin,” said Dr. Merola, a rheumatologist and dermatologist who is codirector of the center for skin and related musculoskeletal diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston.
“ in up to 30% of patients,” he noted.
He urged his colleagues to ask patients functional questions; for example, those pertaining to sicca symptoms; and how to parse out whether a patient’s joint pain is inflammatory or non-inflammatory.
In a video interview, Dr. Merola also discussed lab tests used to evaluate patients with lupus, the value of a simple urine test, and recent work on the development of the first international classification criteria set for discoid type skin lupus.
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Dr. Merola had no relevant disclosures.