In hospitalised patients, connective tissue diseases might contribute to worse COVID-19 infection<\/p>\n
INTRODUCTION<\/strong> Not much is known about COVID-19 in people with rheumatic diseases. It is also not known how the infection might vary by people\u2019s age, treatment they are taking, or other diseases they already have.<\/p>\n WHAT DID THE AUTHORS HOPE TO FIND?<\/strong> WHO WAS STUDIED?<\/strong> HOW WAS THE STUDY CONDUCTED?<\/strong> Severity of the COVID-19 infection was defined as death, admission to intensive care, or potentially lethal complications such as blood poisoning, blood clots, brain damage, or kidney or heart failure.<\/p>\n WHAT WAS THE MAIN FINDING?<\/strong> ARE THESE FINDINGS NEW?<\/strong> WHAT ARE THE LIMITATIONS OF THIS STUDY?<\/strong> WHAT DO THE AUTHORS PLAN TO DO WITH THIS INFORMATION?<\/strong> WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR ME?<\/strong> Protect yourself from COVID-19 by following the advice of the government in your country, including Disclaimer:<\/strong> This is a summary of a scientific article written by a medical professional (\u201cthe Original Article\u201d). The Summary is written to assist non medically trained readers to understand general points of the Original Article. It is supplied \u201cas is\u201d without any warranty. You should note that the Original Article (and Summary) may not be fully relevant nor accurate as medical science is constantly changing and errors can occur. It is therefore very important that readers not rely on the content in the Summary and consult their medical professionals for all aspects of their health care and only rely on the Summary if directed to do so by their medical professional.<\/p>\n Please view our full Website Terms and Conditions.<\/a><\/p>\n Date prepared:<\/strong> November 2020 Copyright \u00a9<\/b>\u00a02020 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd & European League Against Rheumatism. Medical professionals may print copies for their and their patients and students non commercial use. Other individuals may print a single copy for their personal, non commercial use. For other uses please contact our\u00a0Rights and Licensing Team<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In hospitalised patients, connective tissue diseases might contribute to worse COVID-19 infection INTRODUCTION COVID-19 is the disease caused by a new type of coronavirus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). It was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on 11 March 2020. COVID-19 has forced people to change their behaviours. The goal […]<\/p>\n
\nCOVID-19 is the disease caused by a new type of coronavirus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). It was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on 11 March 2020. COVID-19 has forced people to change their behaviours. The goal is to try to limit the spread of infection.<\/p>\n
\nThe authors wanted to see if people with a rheumatic disease had more severe COVID-19 infection than people without a rheumatic disease.<\/p>\n
\nThe study looked at 456 people with COVID-19 infection. Half the people had a rheumatic disease. This
\nincluded chronic arthritis (rheumatoid, psoriatic or spondyloarthritis) or a connective or autoimmune disease (such as lupus, scleroderma or vasculitis). The other half of the people did not have a rheumatic disease.<\/p>\n
\nIn this study the authors used existing databases of patient records to look back and find people for each group. There was no treatment being studied. The authors searched the records of people who were in the database of the rheumatology department and who also had a positive COVID-19 test. The positive test was confirmed in the hospital microbiology database. These 228 people were then matched with another group with similar age and sex. The other group also had hospital-confirmed COVID-19, but no rheumatic diseases. The authors used the results to see if there was any link between immunosuppressive therapies that people were taking at the time they were infected.<\/p>\n
\nThe main finding was that having a connective tissue or autoimmune disease such as lupus, scleroderma or vasculitis doubled the severity of COVID-19 infection. This increased risk did not apply to people with chronic arthritis (rheumatoid, psoriatic or spondyloarthritis). It was also not affected by which previous immunosuppressive medicines people had been taking for their rheumatic disease. These results were adjusted to take into account other factors that can affect the severity of COVID-19 infection, such as age, sex, weight, or having a cardiovascular disease or diabetes.<\/p>\n
\nYes. There were only two previous studies in smaller groups of patients. One of these in 52 people with rheumatic disease in Boston, US, suggested that COVID-19 could lead to higher need for admission to intensive care. Another small study in 26 people in Brescia, Italy, did not find any differences. But because they were small these studies could not separate different disease types. Other more recent studies also conclude that people with certain rheumatic diseases are more often infected or hospitalised than people without rheumatic diseases, and may have more severe infection.<\/p>\n
\nBecause of the study size, it is not possible to say which specific factors are increasing the risk of having worse COVID-19 infection. It could be due to one specific connective tissue disease, or to certain medicines used. It might also depend on which organs are involved in a person\u2019s disease, and how bad their rheumatic disease is. It is possible that not all patients with rheumatic diseases are at similar risk of severe COVID-19 infection.<\/p>\n
\nThe authors plan to share this information with patients and doctors. The information may be useful to help protect people with rheumatic diseases. New research is being done to investigate specific factors that might make people with rheumatic diseases more at risk from COVID-19.<\/p>\n
\nIf you have a systemic connective tissue or autoimmune disease you are at higher risk of getting COVID-19. If you need to be admitted to hospital, you have a higher risk for more severe infection than other people. Some people with rheumatic diseases might need to self-isolate or shield.<\/p>\n
\nwearing masks, washing your hands regularly, avoiding touching your face, and following social distancing
\nrules.<\/p>\n
\nSummary based on research article published on:<\/strong> 12 August 2020
\nFrom:<\/strong> Pablos JL, et al. Clinical outcomes of hospitalised patients with COVID-19 and chronic inflammatory and autoimmune rheumatic diseases: a multicentric matched cohort study. Ann Rheum Dis 2020;79:1544\u20131549. doi:10.1136\/annrheumdis-2020-218296<\/p>\n