Bugs
This form of joint pain is associated with mechanical, but not inflammatory processes.
What is osteoarthritis?
This class of drugs is commonly used PRN for acute inflammation, as it acts on both the NFkB pathway and the arachidonic acid pathway.
What are corticosteroids?
While not specific to RA, high levels of these are indicative of more aggressive disease activity
What are rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-CCP antibodies?
When left untreated, this spirochete (and its subsequent illness) can result in tabes dorsalis, argyll robertson pupils, aortitis, and dementia
What is Treponema pallidum?
This is the enzyme inhibited by use of methotrexate
What is dihydrofolate reductase?
These nonspecific markers of inflammation are useful for tracking the course of disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
What are ESR and CRP?
This form of arthritis is often associated with "pencil in cup deformities"
What is Psoriatic arthritis?
This class of drugs includes Azithromycin, Clarithromycin, and Erythromycin
What are macrolides?
This is a common ECG finding for someone with untreated Lyme carditis
What is AV Block?
These are some of the common descriptors used for gout (monosodium urate) crystals
What is yellow, needle-like, and negatively birefringent (responsive to parallel polarized light)?
This drug impairs microtubule formation, with the goal of impairing inflammasome assembly in gout patients
What is colchicine?
When performing bloodwork on a patient with Hashimoto's disease, you will be most likely to find autoantibodies against one of these.
What are thyroglobulin, TPO, and TSH
These are the most common co-infections for someone suffering from a Borrelia burgdorferi infection.
What are Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia microti?
This is the general structure of the drug Etanercept, which explains its anti-inflammatory effects
What is a dimer of IgG1 and the TNF receptor?
Daily double
Explain this EKG