L. Nandini Moorthy

Consensus treatment plans for induction therapy of newly diagnosed proliferative lupus nephritis in juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus

To formulate consensus treatment plans (CTPs) for induction therapy of newly diagnosed proliferative lupus nephritis (LN) in juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Quality of life in paediatric lupus

Paediatric systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is associated with significant morbidity and has biopsychosocialimplications resulting from the disease and its treatment. The aim of this study was to identify domains of quality of life (QOL) impacted by SLE in children. Children with SLE and their parents were asked a single open-ended question related to lupus. Themes derived from children’s responsesfocused primarily on coping and maintaining control of their life despite SLE. Themes from the parents’ responses were twofold: a) efforts to cope with their child having SLE; and b) appreciation/sadness in connection with their children’s coping process. Qualitative exploration of differentfacets of QOL in these children is critical for the understandingof specific factors that assist/ease the coping process and formulating interventions for improving children’s/family’s self-efficacy and disease management.

Pain Intensity, Psychological Inflexibility, and Acceptance of Pain as Predictors of Functioning in Adolescents with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: A Preliminary Investigation

Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) is a chronic rheumatic disease associated with pain and maladjustment. This study investigated whether pain, acceptance of pain, and psychological inflexibility uniquely predicted functional disability, anxiety, general quality of life (QOL), and health-related quality of life (HQOL) among adolescents with JIA. Twenty-three adolescents with JIA and pain were recruited from a pediatric rheumatology clinic. Participants completed self-report measures pertaining to the key study variables. A series of multiple regression analyses demonstrated that higher pain uniquely predicted higher functional disability. Greater psychological inflexibility uniquely predicted higher anxiety, lower general QOL, and lower HQOL. Increases in acceptance of pain were found to be uniquely related to increases in general QOL. These data confirm prior findings that pain impacts functioning, and provide preliminary findings that psychological inflexibility and acceptance may be important targets of psychological intervention for youth with JIA and pain to improve functioning and QOL.

Choosing Wisely: The American College of Rheumatology's Top 5 for Pediatric Rheumatology

To create a pediatric rheumatology Top 5 list as part of the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundations Choosing Wisely campaign.

Adult Onset Still's Disease and Autoinflammation

The goal of this special issue is to present, in a comprehensive fashion, the latest data on Adult onset Stills Disease, within the broader context of the current concepts of autoinflammatory diseases and the immune mechanisms associated with them. A detailed review of Th-17 immune mechanisms and their association with autoinflammation by Waite and Skokos [1] is followed by two articles on potential disease biomarkers, serum ferritin, and IL-18 by Mehta and Efthimiou [2] and Colafrancesco et al., respectively. Mavragani et al. contributed with an up-to-date comprehensive report of Adult Stills, while Gurion et al. [3] go in depth over its pediatric counterpart, systemic JIA. Rossi-Semerano et al. examine whether both entities fall within the autoinflammatory spectrum and Giampietro et al. provide us with a detailed account of the leading treatments targeting IL-1, the common denominator.

Clinical characteristics of children with membranous lupus nephritis: the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance Legacy Registry.

Objective The objective of this article is to describe and compare clinical features, treatment, and renal outcomes of children with membranous lupus nephritis (MLN), through analysis of a national multicenter registry. Methods Patients with pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and MLN from the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA) Legacy Registry were included. Demographic, disease and medication-related data were collected between 2010 and 2014 from 59 CARRA Legacy Registry sites. Results A total of 132 individuals had MLN, either in isolation or in combination with proliferative LN. Seventy-four patients had pure MLN. The proportion of patients with daily corticosteroid treatment was similar among groups (96%, 91%, and 96%, for class III+V, IV+V, and V, respectively, p = 0.67). Proportion of individuals exposed to any disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) or biologic was similar among the three groups (83%, 91%, 95% for class III+V, IV+V, and V, respectively, p = 0.189). Proportion of patients with decreased glomerular filtration rate (less than 90 ml/min/1.73 m2) was significantly different among groups (4%, 38%, and 4%, for class III+V, IV+V, and V, respectively, p < 0.0001). Conclusion This is the largest reported cohort of children with MLN. More research is needed to understand treatment practices for pediatric MLN, particularly decisions related to pharmacologic treatment of pure MLN. More work is also needed to identify prognostic factors and predictors of outcome for pediatric MLN. Future observational studies will be a first step toward understanding and formulating a standardized approach to treatment of pediatric membranous LN and allowing for the initiation of prospective comparative effectiveness studies and interventional trials.

AMIGO: A novel approach to the mentorship gap in pediatric rheumatology

Peter A. Nigrovic, Boston Childrens Hospital Eyal Muscal, Texas Childrens Hospital Meredith Riebschleger, University of Michigan L. Nandini Moorthy, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Hermine I. Brunner, Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center Barbara A. Eberhard, Hofstra North Shore Long Island Jewish School of Medicine Marisa Klein-Gitelman, Northwestern University Sampath Prahalad, Emory University Rayfel Schneider, University of Toronto

A North American perspective of content and quality of websites in the English language on childhood-onset lupus erythematosus

Objective The objective of this article is to examine the quality, content, and readability of information and resources in the English language and accessible on the internet by pediatric patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and their families in North America. Methods Keywords relevant to SLE were generated by an undergraduate student, a first-year medical student, and a third-year pediatric resident, and a search was conducted across five commonly used search engines. Quality of information found was evaluated independently by an undergraduate student, a graduate student, a first-year medical student, and a third-year pediatric resident using the DISCERN tool. Two pediatric rheumatologists assessed website accuracy and completeness. Readability of websites was determined using the Flesch-Kincaid grade level and Reading Ease score. Results Out of 2000 websites generated in the search, only 34 unique websites met inclusion criteria. Only 16 of these websites had DISCERN scores above 50% (fair quality). Overall quality of website information was fair with mean ±standard deviation (SD) DISCERN quality score of 44 ± 7 (range: 30–56). Only nine websites of 34 had DISCERN scores above 50 (>66%, indicating greater quality) and were further assessed for completeness. Flesch-Kincaid grade level was 11 ± 1 (mean±SD) and reading ease score was 39 ± 10 (mean±SD, range of 11–61). Conclusion Our study highlights the need for more complete, readable information regarding the unique needs of pediatric patients with childhood-onset SLE and their families.