As rheumatologists gather in San Francisco this week for the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology Nov. 6-11, those who see pediatric patients will have a chance to sharpen their skills and broaden their knowledge base by attending some of the many sessions geared specifically for them.
Here’s a day-by-day look at highlights of what’s on the menu for pediatric rheumatologists:
Sunday, Nov. 8
8:30-10:00 a.m. Clots in Children: Where They Come From and What to Do With Them. Attendees will learn all about antiphospholipid antibodies and lupus anticoagulants in children; how and when to perform diagnostic imaging of patients with central nervous system vasculopathy; and how to decide if, when, and how to treat these conditions.
2:30-4:00 p.m. Pediatric Rheumatology: Clinical and Therapeutic Aspects I – Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. This abstract session on JIA features studies about cancer risk; increased risk of infection and other adverse events when one or more biologics are added to methotrexate; findings from a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of probiotics on enthesitis related disease; the relevance of the duration of inactive disease when determining when to withdraw methotrexate; results from the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance’s Systemic JIA Consensus Treatment Plans pilot study; and the efficacy of canakinumab in patients with systemic JIA previously treated with biologics.
4:30-6:00 p.m. Pediatric Lupus Transitional Care: An Interactive Experience. Three speakers will share the different perspectives of the emerging-adult, young-adult, and adolescent patients on their transition experiences through multimedia.
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Monday, Nov. 9
8:30-10:00 a.m. Nuts and Bolts of Macrophage Activation Syndrome. Learn more about recognizing, diagnosing, and treating the condition – even in adult patients – by applying new diagnostic criteria in patients with and without ongoing biologic therapy and knowing when and how to use targeted anticytokine therapy.
2:30-4:00 p.m. Pediatric Rheumatology: Clinical and Therapeutic Aspects II – Pediatric Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. The six studies presented in this abstract session cover a wide range of topics in juvenile SLE, including a systematic classification of the subtypes of pancreatitis in childhood-onset SLE; the sensitivity and specificity of cell-bound complement activation products in the differential diagnosis of childhood-onset lupus; axonal dysfunction’s relationship with neuropsychiatric manifestations and disease activity; risk factors for morbidity and long-term outcome of infants with cardiac neonatal lupus; cross-validating an automated cognitive performance test that screens for neurocognitive problems; and assessing the effects of vitamin D supplementation on bone microarchitecture.
Tuesday, Nov. 10
6:15-7:30 a.m. Childhood Arthritis & Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA). The organization is having a membership breakfast meeting at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis.
9:00-10:00 a.m. Pediatric Rheumatology Year in Review and Awards. This session provides a succinct update on what is newest and most important in basic science, translational, and clinical research in pediatric rheumatology in the past year.
11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Controversies in Kawasaki Disease: Implications for Long-Term Outcomes. This session will inform attendees of how progress made in understanding the pathogenesis of Kawasaki disease has assisted researchers in finding novel biomarkers and treatment to improve long-term outcomes.
4:30-6:00 p.m. Pediatric Rheumatology: Clinical and Therapeutic Aspects IV – Imaging and Novel Clinical Interventions. This session contains abstract presentations on new MRI methods for detecting progression of erosion in JIA by focusing on bony depressions and for assessing whole-body disease damage in juvenile dermatomyositis, as well as a brain biopsy study of the histopathology and defining characteristics of patients with childhood primary small vessel CNS vasculitis. Another three studies of JIA patients examine the efficacy of tocilizumab in a small case series of patients with refractory uveitis, a pilot study of mesenchymal stromal cell treatment, how often patients meet the varying clinical definitions of inactive disease or minimal disease activity.
Wednesday, Nov. 11
7:30-8:30 a.m. New Adult and Juvenile Myositis Response Criteria. Learn how to apply the new response criteria in both clinical and research settings in this session. The new criteria use cut points to define minimal, moderate, and major levels of treatment response and are based on absolute changes in the measurements of improvement, rather than relative changes.
9:00-10:30 a.m. Chronic Nonbacterial Osteomyelitis (CNO): From the Bedside to the Bench. Presenters will offer a broad overview of the clinical features and management of this sterile, inflammatory bone disorder of unknown etiology, as well as growing knowledge of the genetics of the disease. Evidence will be presented that suggests the microbiome may play a role in the clinical manifestations of the disease.