Handbook of Inflammatory Diseases 2026: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Systemic Autoimmunity for Rheumatology Fellows

A febrile patient lands in front of you with sky-high inflammatory markers, a dozen possible diagnoses, and a decision that cannot wait for the consult. Reach for a biologic without clearing the gate and you reactivate latent tuberculosis, miss the hepatitis B that rituximab unmasks, or chase a fever that interleukin-6 blockade has already hidden behind a normal C-reactive protein. This book turns the biologic era into a navigable system — match each disease to its driving cytokine axis, clear the right safety gate, and make the call at the point of care. Inside this book: • Match the disease to its axis — choose the right targeted agent the first time, from rheumatoid arthritis to ANCA vasculitis to inflammatory bowel disease, instead of cycling through failures. • Clear the gate before you prescribe — screen tuberculosis, hepatitis B, and meningococcus so a biologic never opens a silent infection. • Read the marker that lies — know that interleukin-6 blockade abolishes C-reactive protein and can mask sepsis. • Catch the storm early — recognize macrophage activation syndrome when ferritin climbs and the sedimentation rate falls. • Separate flare from infection — make the call that splits treatment in two for the immunosuppressed patient. • Name the new diagnoses — spot VEXAS, IgG4-related disease, and adult-onset Still before they masquerade as something else. Written for rheumatology fellows, internists, hospitalists, immunologists, advanced practice providers, residents, and pharmacists managing inflammatory disease. Open it before your next biologic decision — and make that decision the right one.