tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Eur J Rheumatol
. 2023 Oct;10(4):136-142.
doi: 10.5152/eurjrheum.2023.21152.
Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Rheumatic Patients with Inflammatory Disorders: A Descriptive Study from a High Infection Incidence Region of Northern Spain
Orlando Pompei Fernández, Paula García Escudero, Marta González Fernández, Claudia Stoye, César Antonio Egües, Jose Francisco García Llorente, Itziar Calvo Zorrilla, Oihane Ibargüengoitia Barrena, Ana Ruibal-Escribano, Juan Ramón De Dios, Joaquín María Belzunegui Otano, Belén Álvarez Rodríguez, Susana Gil Barato, Elena Garmendia Sánchez, Margarida Vasques Rocha, Edurne Guerrero, Jaime Calvo-Alén
Background: Since the first confirmed case of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in Spain in January 2020, the susceptibility of patients with rheumatic disease has remained unclear. In this report, we will describe the main features of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) that occurred in rheumatic patients with inflammatory disorders and try to identify features associated with severe disease.
Methods: We included all rheumatic patients with immune-mediated diseases followed at 6 centers belonging to the public healthcare system in the Basque Country (Spain) and diagnosed with COVID-19 from March 1, 2020, to May 31, 2020.
Results: In total, 131 patients were included in this study. The most frequent rheumatic disease was rheumatoid arthritis (46.6%), and the main comorbidities were arterial hypertension (45%). Fortyseven percent were taking glucocorticoids (GC) (62 patients), 61.8% were under treatment with conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARD), and 25 patients (19.1%) were receiving targeted therapies (TT). Thirty-eight percent of patients required hospital admission, 2.3% required transfer to intensive care uni, and the rate of mortality was 9.2%. Associated factors in univariate analysis for a bad outcome were older age, use of GC, obesity, previous cardiovascular disease, and lymphopenia. Use of GC and lymphopenia remained within the multivariate model.
Conclusion: The frequency of COVID-19 seems to be similar in rheumatic patients as in the general population. Advanced age, obesity, heart disease, glucocorticoids, and low levels of lymphocytes were more common among the patients with a bad outcome. Neither exposure to csDMARD nor TT was associated with severe cases.
. 2023 Oct;10(4):136-142.
doi: 10.5152/eurjrheum.2023.21152.
Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Rheumatic Patients with Inflammatory Disorders: A Descriptive Study from a High Infection Incidence Region of Northern Spain
Orlando Pompei Fernández, Paula García Escudero, Marta González Fernández, Claudia Stoye, César Antonio Egües, Jose Francisco García Llorente, Itziar Calvo Zorrilla, Oihane Ibargüengoitia Barrena, Ana Ruibal-Escribano, Juan Ramón De Dios, Joaquín María Belzunegui Otano, Belén Álvarez Rodríguez, Susana Gil Barato, Elena Garmendia Sánchez, Margarida Vasques Rocha, Edurne Guerrero, Jaime Calvo-Alén
- PMID: 37885266
- DOI: 10.5152/eurjrheum.2023.21152
Background: Since the first confirmed case of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in Spain in January 2020, the susceptibility of patients with rheumatic disease has remained unclear. In this report, we will describe the main features of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) that occurred in rheumatic patients with inflammatory disorders and try to identify features associated with severe disease.
Methods: We included all rheumatic patients with immune-mediated diseases followed at 6 centers belonging to the public healthcare system in the Basque Country (Spain) and diagnosed with COVID-19 from March 1, 2020, to May 31, 2020.
Results: In total, 131 patients were included in this study. The most frequent rheumatic disease was rheumatoid arthritis (46.6%), and the main comorbidities were arterial hypertension (45%). Fortyseven percent were taking glucocorticoids (GC) (62 patients), 61.8% were under treatment with conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARD), and 25 patients (19.1%) were receiving targeted therapies (TT). Thirty-eight percent of patients required hospital admission, 2.3% required transfer to intensive care uni, and the rate of mortality was 9.2%. Associated factors in univariate analysis for a bad outcome were older age, use of GC, obesity, previous cardiovascular disease, and lymphopenia. Use of GC and lymphopenia remained within the multivariate model.
Conclusion: The frequency of COVID-19 seems to be similar in rheumatic patients as in the general population. Advanced age, obesity, heart disease, glucocorticoids, and low levels of lymphocytes were more common among the patients with a bad outcome. Neither exposure to csDMARD nor TT was associated with severe cases.