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Normally this story would have begun with a Frankfurt dateline, but the , originally scheduled to take place in the German city, was cancelled as an in-person event.

But EULAR organizers are planning a full slate of online activities and research presentations they believe will provide rheumatologists with a satisfactory experience.

Some live events, including real-time question and answer opportunities, are scheduled each day of the virtual meeting, which begins Wednesday and concludes on Saturday (June 3-7). Other scientific "e-presentations" and "e-posters" are to include prerecorded videos with slides or PDF posters, as appropriate. Registered attendees may access the content through Sept. 1 of this year. (Moreover, it will be possible to "register" for the content until Aug. 31.)

Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic was the reason for holding the conference in this fashion. No area of medicine has gone untouched; in recognition, one of the first live sessions at EULAR 2020 will focus on the infection. It will feature "points of difference" between EULAR's provisional recommendations for rheumatologists' management of COVID-19 patients and those of its U.S. counterpart, the American College of Rheumatology.

Although rheumatologists would seldom be called upon to treat COVID-19 or complications thus far recognized, the use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has become a flashpoint for the specialty, including shortages that have made the drug hard to find for lupus patients and others who have come to rely on HCQ for long-term symptom control. (That concern may be lessening as a series of negative studies on HCQ for COVID-19 treatment appear to be reducing demand for the drug.)

At the same time, because rheumatologists are as experienced with HCQ as their tropical medicine counterparts, data from their practices could inform the drug's use in COVID-19. One example: a reassuring study of heart failure risk with HCQ in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients (abstract OP0024).

Additionally, a live event on Friday will address consequences of COVID-19 for patients with rheumatologic disorders, and another will address practical matters for rheumatologists, many of whom may find their practices deemed "nonessential" even as their patients cope with pandemic-related issues, such as drug shortages.

Meanwhile, the bread-and-butter of EULAR congresses such as phase III trial reports will continue as always. Here are a few highlights:

• Reports on a pivotal study of olokizumab, a novel anti-IL-6 biologic for RA, as well as a head-to-head trial of conventional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) versus several biologics in early RA
• On Wednesday, a group of oral presentations is scheduled on artificial intelligence in rheumatologic imaging
• Thursday will include a session on RA biologics and their effects on cardiovascular risk, as well as the risks from biologics and cancer risk
• Another use for HCQ is explored in a phase III trial involving osteoarthritis (OA) of the hand
• OA takes the stage again Friday in a live event, for a discussion of endogenous cartilage repair as a potential therapeutic approach
• And a Saturday session addresses a series of new recommendations for RA, psoriatic arthritis, antinuclear antibody testing, checkpoint inhibitor complications, and intra-articular treatments for joint diseases

The online program listing and abstracts for the more than 3,600 oral presentations and posters are .

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