Serologic Screening Rates For Coccidioides In Endemic US Regions Low Among Patients With Autoimmune/Rheumatic Diseases, Study Finds

Rheumatology Advisor (4/25, Goldberg) reports, “Rates of serologic screening for Coccidioides in areas endemic for the fungus were low among individuals with autoimmune/rheumatic diseases initiating treatment with biologic/targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (b/tsDMARDs), conventional synthetic (cs) DMARDs, and noninhaled corticosteroids, according to study findings published in ACR Open Rheumatology.” The study found that “in the year before prescription initiation, screening rates for Coccidioides were undetected in Texas and negligible in California, corresponding to 2.8% (95% CI, 0.0-6.7) for b/tsDMARDs, 1.0% (95% CI, 0.0-2.0) for csDMARDs, and 0.8% (95% CI, 0.4-1.1) for corticosteroids.”