Gout is an inflammatory arthritis provoked by monosodium urate crystals (MSU) in joints and surrounding soft tissue. 1 It is associated with high serum uric acid (UA), defined as a level greater than 6.8 or 7.0 mg/dL. 2 In the USA, the prevalence of gout is estimated at 3.9% of adults (~8.3 million people) making it one of the most common inflammatory rheumatic diseases of adulthood. 2 High serum UA levels have been linked to the development of new-onset chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in the general population. 3 In patients on hemodialysis (HD) some studies have shown that increased serum UA levels are predictive of cardiovascular disease. 4,5 However, other studies have demonstrated that hyperuricemia in patients on HD has cardioprotective and mortality protective effects.

Objective We aimed to explore the impact of telehealth in the setting of COVID‐19 on patient access to ambulatory rheumatologic care at our academic public health system and to determine whether telemedicine visits had a beneficial impact on access to our rheumatology ambulatory clinics. Methods We compared completed, no‐show, and cancellation rates between in‐person clinic visits and telemedicine appointments over a 10‐week time period before Ohio's initial executive order responding to COVID‐19 (premandate period) and a 10‐week time period afterward (postmandate period). Scheduling and appointment data were retrospectively extracted from the medical center's electronic health record. Results During the premandate period, when all visits were in‐person, the total number of completed visits was 930. The percentages of cancellations, no‐shows, and completed appointments of all appointment activities were 31.43%, 13.12%, and 55.46%, respectively. During the postmandate period, when telemedicine visits were added, the overall total number of completed visits was 1038. The percentages of cancellations, no‐shows, and completed appointments of all appointment activities were 53.45%, 13.91%, and 32.64%, respectively, for in‐person appointments and 0.12%, 8.48%, and 91.39%, respectively, for telemedicine appointments. Conclusion Telemedicine during the COVID‐19 pandemic resulted in higher rates of completed appointments and lower rates of missed appointments in the rheumatology outpatient clinic compared with in‐person visits during and prior to the pandemic.

Background Increased cancer-risk has been reported with rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus, but the risk is poorly studied in ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Conflicting data in AS have been reported in Asia and Europe, with lack of US population-based studies. Our objective is to study the prevalence of cancer in patients with AS in the US. Methods Using the Explorys database, we performed a cross-sectional study. Data from AS patients and controls were stratified by 2 rheumatology visits, age groups, clinical characteristics, and frequency of cancers. The data were analyzed using a series of chi-square tests of independence as well as logistic regression to test for association between AS and cancer. Results 1410 AS patients (12.88%) had cancer. Female AS patients had a lower prevalence of cancer compared to controls (OR 0.840, 95% CI [0.769, 0.916]), while male AS patients had no statistically significant difference (OR 1.011, 95% CI [0.929, 1.099]). Among patients with AS, Skin cancers (squamous cell, malignant melanoma, and basal cell) and head and neck cancers were significantly increased. Conclusion Our study demonstrated that the prevalence of “any-type-cancer” was not increased in AS patients compared to controls with no rheumatic disease. Skin, head, and neck cancers were more frequently seen in AS patients.