Autoinflammatory diseases (AIDs) are a rare group of illnesses characterized by unprovoked episodes of fever and systemic inflammation. An understanding of their pathophysiology has led to the development of effective treatment guidelines. Unfortunately, many patients with recurrent fevers have symptoms that do not match any of the known AIDs. There is an unmet need to provide effective treatment to these patients with undefined AIDs (uAIDs). Colchicine, a treatment for patients with familial Mediterranean fever, is sometimes used to treat patients with uAIDs. We examined the efficacy of colchicine in patients with uAIDs and identified clinical factors that predicted a good colchicine response.
Despite the widespread use of temperature measurement in healthcare, our ability to use temperature data to diagnose patients is limited; it remains challenging to distinguish fevers of rheumatic illnesses from those of infectious or malignant conditions. We created Feverprints, a crowdsourcing research app to understand temperature variation between individuals, determine unique fever patterns (“feverprints”) for a variety of illnesses, and examine how antipyretics affect disease course. We report preliminary data from temperatures collected during the first 9 months of the study.
Fever is a cardinal feature of autoinflammatory diseases and complicates the course for other rheumatic illnesses. Despite the widespread use of temperature measurement in healthcare, our ability to use temperature for diagnosis is limited, and distinguishing fevers of rheumatic illnesses from those of infectious or malignant conditions remains challenging. We created Feverprints, a crowdsourcing research app to understand temperature variation between individuals, determine unique fever patterns (“feverprints”) for a variety of illnesses, and examine how antipyretics affect disease course. We report preliminary data from temperatures and symptoms collected during the first 9 months of the study.
Autoinflammatory diseases (AIDs) are a rare group of illnesses characterized by unprovoked episodes of fever and systemic inflammation. Patients with defined AIDs benefit from evidence-based treatment guidelines1. Unfortunately, many patients with AIDs do not have a genetic diagnosis and their symptoms do not match any of the known AIDs. There is an unmet need to provide effective treatment to these patients with undefined AIDs (uAIDs). We examined the efficacy of colchicine in patients with uAIDs and identified patient characteristics and clinical factors that predicted a good colchicine response.
Here are a few references on why and how to get started with social media for medical education, including articles about the use of social media, guidelines on how to use (and how NOT to use) social media, and links to online software.
