tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Ann Rheum Dis
. 2020 Jun 12;annrheumdis-2020-217763.
doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-217763. Online ahead of print.
Prevalence of Hospital PCR-confirmed COVID-19 Cases in Patients With Chronic Inflammatory and Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases
Jose L Pablos[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Lydia Abasolo[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Jose M Alvaro-Gracia[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Francisco J Blanco[SUP] 5 6 [/SUP], Ricardo Blanco[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Isabel Castrej?n[SUP] 4 [/SUP], David Fernandez-Fernandez[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Benjam?n Fernandez-Gutierrez[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Mar?a Galindo-Izquierdo[SUP] 9 2 [/SUP], Miguel A Gonzalez-Gay[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Sara Manrique-Arija[SUP] 10 11 [/SUP], Natalia Mena V?zquez[SUP] 10 11 [/SUP], Antonio Mera Varela[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Miriam Retuerto[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Alvaro Seijas-Lopez[SUP] 8 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Background: The susceptibility of patients with rheumatic diseases and the risks or benefits of immunosuppressive therapies for COVID-19 are unknown.
Methods: We performed a retrospective study with patients under follow-up in rheumatology departments from seven hospitals in Spain. We matched updated databases of rheumatology patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-positive PCR tests performed in the hospital to the same reference populations. Rates of PCR+ confirmed COVID-19 were compared among groups.
Results: Patients with chronic inflammatory diseases had 1.32-fold higher prevalence of hospital PCR+ COVID-19 than the reference population (0.76% vs 0.58%). Patients with systemic autoimmune or immune-mediated disease (AI/IMID) showed a significant increase, whereas patients with inflammatory arthritis (IA) or systemic lupus erythematosus did not. COVID-19 cases in some but not all diagnostic groups had older ages than cases in the reference population. Patients with IA on targeted-synthetic or biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), but not those on conventional-synthetic DMARDs, had a greater prevalence despite a similar age distribution.
Conclusion: Patients with AI/IMID show a variable risk of hospital-diagnosed COVID-19. Interplay of ageing, therapies and disease-specific factors seem to contribute. These data provide a basis to improve preventive recommendations to rheumatic patients and to analyse the specific factors involved in COVID-19 susceptibility.
Keywords: arthritis; autoimmune diseases; biological therapy; epidemiology.
. 2020 Jun 12;annrheumdis-2020-217763.
doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-217763. Online ahead of print.
Prevalence of Hospital PCR-confirmed COVID-19 Cases in Patients With Chronic Inflammatory and Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases
Jose L Pablos[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Lydia Abasolo[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Jose M Alvaro-Gracia[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Francisco J Blanco[SUP] 5 6 [/SUP], Ricardo Blanco[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Isabel Castrej?n[SUP] 4 [/SUP], David Fernandez-Fernandez[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Benjam?n Fernandez-Gutierrez[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Mar?a Galindo-Izquierdo[SUP] 9 2 [/SUP], Miguel A Gonzalez-Gay[SUP] 7 [/SUP], Sara Manrique-Arija[SUP] 10 11 [/SUP], Natalia Mena V?zquez[SUP] 10 11 [/SUP], Antonio Mera Varela[SUP] 8 [/SUP], Miriam Retuerto[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Alvaro Seijas-Lopez[SUP] 8 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 32532753
- DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-217763
Abstract
Background: The susceptibility of patients with rheumatic diseases and the risks or benefits of immunosuppressive therapies for COVID-19 are unknown.
Methods: We performed a retrospective study with patients under follow-up in rheumatology departments from seven hospitals in Spain. We matched updated databases of rheumatology patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-positive PCR tests performed in the hospital to the same reference populations. Rates of PCR+ confirmed COVID-19 were compared among groups.
Results: Patients with chronic inflammatory diseases had 1.32-fold higher prevalence of hospital PCR+ COVID-19 than the reference population (0.76% vs 0.58%). Patients with systemic autoimmune or immune-mediated disease (AI/IMID) showed a significant increase, whereas patients with inflammatory arthritis (IA) or systemic lupus erythematosus did not. COVID-19 cases in some but not all diagnostic groups had older ages than cases in the reference population. Patients with IA on targeted-synthetic or biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), but not those on conventional-synthetic DMARDs, had a greater prevalence despite a similar age distribution.
Conclusion: Patients with AI/IMID show a variable risk of hospital-diagnosed COVID-19. Interplay of ageing, therapies and disease-specific factors seem to contribute. These data provide a basis to improve preventive recommendations to rheumatic patients and to analyse the specific factors involved in COVID-19 susceptibility.
Keywords: arthritis; autoimmune diseases; biological therapy; epidemiology.