Update In Rheumatology 2015: New Diagnostic Tests and Treatments for Clinical Practice

This timely one-day conference is intended to provide new evidence-based strategies for the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment, including many newly approved biologic therapies and surgery of common arthritic, rheumatic and autoimmune diseases. Local experts and renowned invited speakers, nationally known for their clinical and clinical research achievements, will provide state of the art summaries.  In addition to lectures with questions and discussion, there will be case presentations with an audience response system to enhance the learning experience.

Learning Objectives

• Advance learners’ knowledge of new diagnostic and therapeutic methods, including joint replacement surgery, and translate current evidence concerning new techniques into clinical application and implementation.

• Evaluate gout patients, distinguish those patients that require urate lowering therapy, and recognize the importance of monitoring serum uric acid levels and the availability and use of the therapeutic agent.

• Distinguish patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) from other connective tissue diseases as well as categorize their illness in order to optimize their therapy.

• Identify newly approved and “pipeline” therapeutic options currently in development and in clinical trials for the treatment of SLE, RA and psoriatic arthritis.
  
  
• Demonstrate the techniques to obtain optimal joint and tendon ultrasound images and learn the appropriate interpretation of those images.
  
  
• Identify the natural history of chronic back pain and apply evidence based approach to therapeutic modalities.