The Evidence Based Rheumatology Podcast
Episodes
E133: Obinutuzumab for SLE (ALLEGORY)
19 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Good RCT this week, investigating the CD20 B cell inhibitor obinutuzumab for SLE. Sign up for my newsletter if you would like to have a read-along com...
E132: Romosozumab vs teriparatide for osteoproosis (STRUCTURE)
05 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Quick podcast this week about a nifty head to head study that I had previously missed. Worth reading if - like me - you're still trying to figure out ...
E131: A Sham-Controlled Sham of a Trial: RESET-RA
21 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Today I cover the recent publication of the RESET-RA study, which evaluated vagal nerve stimulation to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Have a listen in fu...
E130: Telitacicept for SLE
22 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Surprisingly (unbelievably?) impressive RCT evaluating the Blys/APRIL inhibitor "telitacicept" for patients with SLE (mixed SLE and SLE-LN). Very curi...
E129: Long Term Routine Laboratory Monitoring in RA
04 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ever wonder how often you really need to check "monitoring" labs? If so then this is the podcast for you! Bryant England mentioned this during his exc...
E128: Nerandomilast for Autoimmune ILD (FIBRONEER-ILD)
12 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Covering a very interesting study this week, which investiaged the PDE4B inhibitor nerandomilast for patients with progressive pulmonary fibrosis (spe...
E127: TNFs and All That CHF
22 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Another episode looking into safety this week! Tackling that pesky issue of TNFs and CHF. Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter and check out the pape...
E126: Risk Signals, JAKs, and SELECTIVE-ity
08 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Covering an interesting but ultimately disappointing post hoc study of multiple upadacitinib trials in RA. Initially some hope for clarity in the "Do ...
E125: Adrenal Insufficiency after Stopping Prednisone
29 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Interesting read this week - I cover a nifty little paper that presented data about adrenal insufficiency after stopping prednisolone, published in JA...
e124: MTX vs Pred for Pulmonary Sarcoidosis: PREDMETH Study
12 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Interesting NEJM trial this week comparing methotrexate to prednisone for pulmonary sarcoidosis. Paper available here: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/1...
E123: Upadacitinib for Giant Cell Arteritis: SELECT-GCA
30 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Podcast this week about the recently published SELECT-GCA study, which evaluated the use of the janus kinase inhibitor upadacitinib (Rinvoq) for patie...
E122: Guidelines for Maybe Diagnosing HLH
17 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week I cover another of my newsletters, though I mostly use it as a skeleton to riff on a common (and challenging) issue for rheumatology consult...
E121: Obinutuzumab in SLE-LN
02 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Another day, another b cell podcast. Seems to be all the rage! This week I discuss the recently published NEJM trial of the anti CD20 agent obinutuzum...
E120: Real Life Use of PEXIVAS-Low
06 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What do you do when observational data and RCTs conflict? This week I'm covering the "real world PEXIVAS" study that was done by the French Vasculitis...
E119: Teclistamab for Rheumatology Writ Large
10 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
One of my rare case-report podcasts, a topic that I typically avoid. The craze about CAR-T has also made me a little crazy, though, so I wanted to sha...
E118: The emerging risk of overdiagnosis in RA and PMR
31 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Podcast this week about overdiagnosis! Currently one of my favorite topics and something that I think will be an emerging issue in our field. We recen...
E117: Inebilizumab for IgG4-RD (MITIGATE)
03 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
New RCT in a new disease with a new drug! But is it as shiny as one would hope? Interesting discussion today about what a trial means, how it will aff...
E116: A New Paradigm for PMR
11 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Reading one of my recent newsletters this week, this one about PMR tapers. Be sure to subscribe at ebrheum.com if you want access to the visuals and u...
E115: Benralizumab for EGPA - the MANDARA Study
28 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Quick rundown of an important rheumatology RCT this week, discussing the IL-5 inhibitor benralizumab for the treatment of relapsing/refractory EGPA. ...
E114: Target Trials and STAR-RA with Rishi Desai
14 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Important methodology podcast this week, covering a lot of ground with expert epidemiologist Rishi Desai. Really enjoyed our conversation and glad to ...
E113: CAR-T is Coming to Rheumatology
30 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Exciting podcast this week about the upcoming / impending use of CAR-T in rheumatology. Highly recommend rheumatologists learn about this now; it's go...
E112: Gabapentin is Trash
12 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week's podcast will be a quick read of one of my newsletters. The title basically speaks for itself! Find the newsletter and my other work at ebr...
E111: PEXIVAS Subsets with Mike Walsh & Mats Junek
25 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
At ACR23 I had a twitter-disagreement about steroid tapers from PEXIVAS with Mike Walsh, the lead author on the PEXIVAS trial. He kindly agreed to joi...
E110: Rheum4Debate - Screening for RA-ILD with Joshua Solomon and Scott Matson
14 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Rheum4Debate is back! In this episode I moderated a debate between two pulmonologists about RA-ILD. As a reminder, Rheum4Debate is an Oxford-style deb...
E109: Abatacept for Pre-RA - the ARIAA Study
11 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Nice study this week on an important topic. Can we prevent the development of rheumatoid arthritis by initiating DMARDs during a preclinical phase? Lo...
E108: Myositis Guidelines for Cancer Screening w/Alexander Oldroyd
26 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Informative podcast this week with Dr. Alexander Oldroyd, the first author of the recently published "International Guideline for Idiopathic Inflammat...
E107: Fragility of SLE Randomized Controlled Trials
05 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Quick methodology episode this week discussing the concept of "fragility" in randomized controlled trials of lupus. Really enjoyed discussing this pap...
E106: GCA/PMR with Bhaskar Dasgupta
24 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today I'm taking another twitter discussion into the podcast realm! Dr. Bhaskar Dasgupta has published hundreds of papers about polymyalgia rheumatica...
E105: Autoimmunity Post COVID-19?
09 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Interesting topic and interesting paper this year, including discussion of observational biases, positive and negative controls, and interpreting data...
E104: Sarilumab for PMR - The SAPHYR Study
14 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Important trial on the podcast this week! I take a deep dive into the recently published SAPHYR study, which evaluated the use of the IL6 inhibitor sa...
E103: Len Calabrese on Monoclonal Antibodies for COVID-19
23 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week I took a twitter disagreement from the impersonal world of twitter to the podcast world of a back and forth conversation. Really enjoyed tal...
E102: Unintentional Unblinding in Rheumatic Disease Trials
16 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Excited to share an editorial that I wrote along with Cody Bruggemeyer and Desh Nepal, two trainees with me at the Medical College of Wisconsin. We di...
E101: Pred v Colchicine for CPPD: COLCHICORT
02 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Happy to share the FIRST randomized trial in CPPD today. It's kind of a weird study but worth a quick discussion. https://www.sciencedirect.com/scie...
E100: ADVOCATE Health Related Quality of Life
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week I dive into the health related quality of life measures that were reported in the ADVOCATE study. I found them overall somewhat convincing a...
E99: Hospital Problems
07 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Quick episode this week from a recent Perspective piece I had published in the New England Journal. Have a listen or a read! https://www.nejm.org/doi/...
E98: Key Opinion Leaders & ILD Guidelines
24 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Podcast this week discussing key opinion leaders (KOLs) and pharmaceutical companies. Please subscribe to my newsletter (ebrheum.com) and be sure to s...
E97: Does allopurinol reduce CVD? The ALLHEART Study
27 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Nice quick RCT rundown this week, covering the ALLHEART study, a pragmatic RCT of urate lowering therapy to reduce cardiovascular disease. Quick liste...
E96: Long COVID - Where to After Norway?
13 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today I cover the recently published long-COVID study from Norway. It's a great paper that challenges much of the prevailing wisdom. I think there are...
E95: Rituximab or Cyclophosphamide in ANCA Vasculitis
30 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Fun study this week from JAMA Network Open and the French Vasculitis Study Group. They used a target trial emulation (one of my favorites) to ask whet...
E94: Steroids and Psoriasis Flares
16 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week I hope to debunk one of rheumatology's "paradoxes." We love to talk about these and subject our fellows to memorizing them for the boards. W...
E93: Azathioprine is the Worst
02 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today I'll be reading one of my recent newsletters! It's kind of a fun run-down of my anti-azathioprine stance. As I say in the piece, some patients ...
E92: Are muscle symptoms from statins imaginary?
16 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today I review a recent large meta analysis of randomized controlled trials of statin use. Super interesting findings that have changed my clinical pr...
E91: Clinical Innovation in Rheumatology: Past, Present, and Future
15 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Change of pace today! I interviewed Jason Liebowitz and Phil Seo about their new book entitled "Clinical Innovation in Rheumatology: Past, Present, an...
E90: There Is No Diagnosis of Exclusion in Rheumatology
01 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Quick episode this week to share an editorial I recently wrote with Jay Patel and Anisha Dua. We cover one of my least phrases in medicine, the "diagn...
E89: Vitamin D to Prevent Osteoporotic Fractures
10 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Exciting (negative) results from a large RCT on the podcast this week as well as a (mini) rant about how we should be spending our time as rheumatolog...
E88: HCQ Dose Reductions and SLE Flares
27 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Interesting case-crossover study today evaluating the association between HCQ dosing and risk of SLE flares. Super worth your time to read the paper o...
E87: IVIG for Dermatomyositis
13 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Podcast is back! This week I discuss a pivotal RCT in dermatomyositis. Check it out and be sure to subscribe to my newsletter at ebrheum.com!Â
E86: Target Trials and Causality in Rheumatology
06 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Mixing it up again this week to discuss an editorial by Miguel Hernan and a systematic review of target trials in rheumatology. It's kind of a fun fre...
E85: Challenging Wisely
23 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Quick episode today. I wanted to share an editorial that was recently published in Rheumatology, where I and co-authors (Shannon Tai and Natalie Anumo...
E84: The JAKapocalypse (AKA ORAL Surveillance)
09 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After some delay, I finally get around to discussing ORAL-Surveillance, a post-marketing safety study of tofacitinib for rheumatoid arthritis. It's an...
E83: Effectiveness of COVID-19 Vaccines
25 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After a winter hiatus, the podcast is back! Today I wanted to dive into a 'hotbutton' issue - the question of whether (or not) COVID-19 vaccines "work...
E82: LoVAS Trial for ANCA Vasculitis
04 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Hello again! Snappy episode this week about the exciting LoVAS trial, which compared a reduced dose steroid taper for ANCA vasculitis. Be sure to drop...
E81: Vasculitis Guidelines E7: Takayasu Arteritis with Dr. Andy Abril
12 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I talk with Dr. Andy Abril, Chair at the Division of Rheumatology at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville Florida. Dr. Abril is one of t...
E80: Vasculitis Guidelines E6 - Polyarteritis Nodosa with Dr. Jason Springer
11 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I talk with Dr. Jason Springer, Co-Director of the Vanderbilt Vasculitis Center, about the guidelines for PANÂ He is one of the lead...
E79: Vasculitis Guidelines E5 - GCA with Dr. Mehrdad Maz
10 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On today's episode I discuss GCA with Dr. Mehrdad Maz. He is the Division Director of the Kansas University Allergy, Clinical Immunology and Rheumat...
E78: Vasculitis Guidelines #4 - EGPA with Dr. Phil Seo
09 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, I talk with Dr. Mehrdad Maz about the newly published guidelines for giant cell arteritis (GCA). Dr. Maz is the Division Directo...
E77: Vasculitis Guidelines #3 - ANCA Vasculitis with Dr. Sharon Chung
08 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The guidelines have finally arrived! I'm kicking off the series today with a conversation about the ANCA vasculitis guidelines. My guest is Dr. Sh...
E76: Voclosporin for SLE Nephritis: The AURORA RCT
12 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Hopping in this week to round out my thoughts on ADVOCATE (avacopan in AAV) and covering the recently published AURORA trial for SLE nephritis. Back t...
E75: Vasculitis Guidelines Episode 2: Overview with Sharon Chung
24 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we'll be introducing the process by which the 2021 ACR/VF guidelines were produced. My guest is Dr. Sharon Chung. She's the direct...
E74: Vasculitis Guidelines Episode 1 - Joyce Kullman
01 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the first episode of the Vasculitis Guidelines Podcast! In Episode 1, I interview Joyce Kullman, Executive Director of the Vasculitis Fou...
E73: Introducing the Vasculitis Guidelines Podcast
31 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Quick update on a new series!Â
E72: Avacopan for ANCA Vasculitis
25 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Steroid free remission! Or is it? This week I discuss a really exciting trial in ANCA vasculitis. Â
E71: MTX Discontinuation Post... Influenza Vaccination
27 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
I stole some time to tackle a pressing issue for rheumatologists - to hold or not to hold immunosuppression in patients who are receiving a COVID19 va...
E70: Rheum4Debate - HCQ Levels Should Be Monitored in Patients with SLE
19 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We have a great show for you this week! Anisha Dua will be moderating a debate between myself and Max Konig on this motion: "Hydroxychloroquine le...
E69: Publication Trends in SRMAs and RCTs
29 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week I cover another of my meta-research projects, this one on systematic review and meta analysis (SRMA) growth as compared to randomized clinic...
E68: SELECT-CHOICE Upadacitinib vs Abatacept in RA
15 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Active comparator trial! Always my favorite. Lots of fun topics in this one, including noninferiority trials, crafty endpoints, and PROs. Check it...
E67: Belimumab in Lupus Nephritis (BLISS-LN)
01 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Another day, another lupus trial, another round of endpoint shenanigans. Why does that matter? How big is the benefit from belimumab in SLE nephriti...
E66: MRI to Diagnose PMR
10 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Great paper to discuss this week - one that may be too good to believe? I highly recommend checking out the pdf first (ebrheum.com/twts) - their graph...
E65: Anifrolumab in SLE - A Reply
03 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Quick podcast this week that expands on issues I discuss in Episode 55. Â Go back and listen to that one first if you have time! Â I think this is an ...
E63: Housekeeping #3
27 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The podcast is back! Â I tune in briefly here to explain where I've been, what I'm doing, and where this will be headed. Feel free to skip right ahead...
E57: PEXIVAS Trial - PLEX and Reduced Steroid in ANCA Vasculitis
19 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
PEXIVAS has landed! Â This week I go over the trial and my take on it's results. Â Impressive undertaking that answered two questions for a subset of ...
E56: Continue or Withdraw Prednisone in SLE (CORTICOLUP)
06 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
(Yet) another RCT this week! Â Nice investigator initiated trial with many wonderful strengths and a few crippling flaws. Great opportunity to think a...
E55: Anifrolumab for SLE (TULIP 1&2)
23 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week I talk about the recently published TULIP 1 and TULIP 2 trials that assessed anifrolumab for active SLE. Â Great to see a new drug in this d...
E54: Rheum4Debate - Triple Tx is 1st Line in RA w/No Response to MTX
16 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Happy New Year! Â This week Dr. Anisha Dua (@anisha_dua) and Dr. Sarah Fantus (@sarahfantus) debate this motion:Â "In MTX non-responders with RA, trip...
E53: Another Look at Nintedanib for SSc-ILD
19 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This week I go back to a topic from episode 42, the SENSCIS trial and nintedanib for SSc-ILD. Â The way this medication has been received and a recent...
E52: HOPE RCT - Prednisone for OA of the Hand
04 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Surprising RCT this week discussing the HOPE trial, which pitted 10mg prednisone against placebo for inflammatory hand OA. I do think this will change...
E51: Rheum4Debate - "Start TCZ Upfront in GCA"
26 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Rheum4Debate is back! Â This week we have Dr. Anisha Dua arguing in support of the motion, "Patients with newly diagnosed GCA should start glucocortic...
E50: Housekeeping 2
24 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Super brief "checking in" podcast this week. Â In short, say "hi" at ACR, write me a review on apple podcasts, send this to a friend, and keep listeni...
E49: IL17i vs. TNFi for Psoriatic Arthritis (SPIRIT-H2H)
17 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Today I dive into the emerging therapies for psoriatic arthritis, focusing on the IL17i ixekizumab and the recently published SPIRIT-H2H trial. It's a...
E48: ADACTA - Tocilizumab or Adalimumab in MTX Intolerant Patients with RA
03 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This week I revisit an old paper - the 2013 ADACTA trial that assessed tocilizumab and adalimumab for patients who cannot take or were intolerant of M...
E47: HCQ Blood Levels and HCQ Retinopathy
26 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This week I decided to discuss the question of HCQ and retinal toxicity. Â It has been controversial the past few years and we're all trying to get a ...
E46: Rituximab in Lupus
15 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Finally got around to tackling rituximab in SLE. Â This is a tough topic: lots of people feel passionately one way or another, flawed observational da...
E45: TNF or TCZ or ABA or RTX: Real World Data for RA
29 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This week I tackle an interesting cohort study that Jack Cush (@RheumNow) mentioned in his podcast. Â It's a nice opportunity to discuss bDMARDs in th...
E44: SELECT-COMPARE Upadacitinib (JAKi) for Rheumatoid Arthritis
15 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Finally got around to tackling the JAKi this week. Â I decided to focus on SELECT-COMPARE, which pitted upadacitinib (selective JAK1 inhibitor) agains...
E43: Tofacitinib for MDA5 Amyopathic Dermatomyositis ILD
08 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Back this week to discuss an interesting paper in the NEJM. Â Lots of interesting issues, most notably historical controls and their limitations. Â Fi...
E42: SENSCIS - Nintedanib for Systemic Sclerosis ILD
25 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This week I'll discuss an important paper in systemic sclerosis, the recent SENSCIS trial that compared 150mg nitedanib to placebo. Â I wind up coming...
E41: Rheum4Debate "SLE Pts. on Cytoxan Should Receive Bactrim"
18 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome back! Â This is the second episode of Rheum4Debate, an oxford-style debate show for the field of rheumatology. Â In this podcast we'll tackle ...
E40: Rheum4Debate - "SCT is 1st Line Tx for SSc ILD"
23 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Exciting episode this week! Â This is the FIRST of a new podcast series entitled Rheum4Debate, an Oxford style debate show for the field of rheumatolo...
E39: MTX for GCA - 3 RCTs and a Case Control Study
09 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This week a nice case control study out of Mayo challenged my own bias against MTX in GCA. Â This prompted a deep dive into the literature, including ...
E38: Romosozumab for Osteoporosis
02 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The FDA recently approved romosozumab for high risk post menopausal osteoporosis, but gave it a black box warning for cardiovascular disease. Â This w...
E37: TRACE-RA Atorvastatin for Primary Prevention of CVD in RA
18 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This week I pair the recently published TRACE-RA trial assessing the efficacy of atorvastatin in primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. It offe...
E36: Baricitinib for SLE
04 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This week I discuss the phase 2 trial on baricitinib in SLE. Â Though it's early times (and the total flop of rituxan in ME/CFS recently can attest to...
E35: Tramadol Associated with All Cause Mortality
29 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
#RheumJC week! Â I hope you all tuned into the online journal club #RheumJC, but if you did not I put up a podcast about the paper we discussed. Yet a...
E34: Leggo my Eggo! Eggs, Cholesterol, CVD, Mortality
21 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In this week's episode I depart briefly from discussing papers in the rheumatology literature to dive headfirst into the recent controversy over eggs ...
E33: FDG-PET for GCA
15 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This week I'll tackle an interesting topic in giant cell vasculitis - the utility of FDG PET. This was a good paper but one that I used to discuss imp...
E32: TaSER and ARCTIC: U/S to Guide Treatment in Inflammatory Arthritis
07 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Finally addressing this ultrasound business. Â I decided to cover two somewhat similar trials, which seem to come to the same conclusions regarding U/...
E31: SEAM and MIPA Trials: MTX vs. ETN for Psoriatic Arthritis
28 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This week we tackle two RCTs and try to figure out what to do with etanercept, methotrexate, and placebo (or the lack thereof). Â Good opportunity for...
E30: The Quality of RCTs in the Rheum Literature
21 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We're back! Â This week I discuss work I did for the rheumatology winter clinical symposium on the quality of RCTs in the rheumatologic literature. Â ...
E29: CIRT and CANTOS - Immunotherapy for Cardiovascular Disease
21 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Double episode this week and then I'll be taking the holidays off. Â I decided to combine two trials of immunotherapy for secondary prevention of card...
E28: Nurse Run Treat to Target vs. Usual Care? in Gout
12 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Interesting trial this week pitting an elaborate nurse led group against suboptimal usual care. Â Suboptimal usual care lost pretty badly, but what to...