Main description:

Important strides have been made in understanding the pathophysiologic basis of many inflammatory conditions in recent years, but rheumatology remains a discipline in which diagnosis is rooted in the medical history skillfully extracted from the patient, the careful physical examination, and the discriminating use of laboratory tests and imaging. Moreover, selection of the most appropriate therapy for patients with rheumatic diseases also remains heavily reliant upon clinical experience.

Medical disciplines such as rheumatology that depend significantly upon clinical wisdom are prone to the development of systems of 'Pearls' and 'Myths,' related to the diseases they call their own, a 'Pearl' being a nugget of truth about the diagnosis or treatment of a particular disease that has been gained by dint of clinical experience and a 'Myth' being a commonly held belief that influences the practice of many clinicians - but is false.

This book will pool together the clinical wisdom of seasoned, expert rheumatologists who participate in the care of patients with autoimmune diseases, systemic inflammatory disorders, and all other rheumatic conditions.

Contents:

Rheumatoid Arthritis.- Rheumatoid Vasculitis.- Adult-Onset Still's Disease.- Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.- Monogenic Autoinflammatory Syndromes.- Juvenile Spondyloarthropathy.- Ankylosing Spondylitis.- Psoriatic Arthritis.- Reactive Arthritis.- Systemic Sclerosis (Scleroderma) and Raynaud's Phenomenon.- Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis and Other Scleroderma Mimickers.- Sjoegren's Syndrome.- Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.- Pediatric Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.- Mixed Connective Tissue Disease.- The Antiphospholipid Syndrome.- Pregnancy in the Rheumatic Diseases.- Inflammatory Myopathies.- Juvenile Dermatomyositis.- Vasculitic Neuropathy.- Pediatric Vasculitis.- Behcet's Syndrome.- The Churg-Strauss Syndrome.- ANCA-Associated Vasculitis.- Cryoglobulinemia.- Polyarteritis Nodosa.- Giant Cell Arteritis and Polymyalgia Rheumatica.- Takayasu's Arteritis.- Primary Angiitis of the Central Nervous System and Reversible Cerebral Vasoconstriction Syndromes.- Thromboangiitis Obliterans (Buerger's Disease).- Less Common Forms of Vasculitis.- Relapsing Polychondritis.- Fibromyalgia.- The Clinical Features of Gout.- Gout Epidemiology.- Gout Treatment.- Calcium Pyrophosphate Dihydrate (CPPD) Crystal Deposition Disease.- Inflammatory Eye Disease.- Immune-Mediated Inner Ear Disease.- Osteoporosis.- Paget's Disease of Bone.- Sarcoidosis.- Osteoarthritis.- Regional Musculoskeletal Complaints.- Low Back and Neck Pain.- Amyloidosis.- The Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.- Osteonecrosis.