Int J Intern Emerg Med | Volume 4, Issue 2 | Research Article | Open Access
Borja del Carmelo Gracia Tello1, Luis Sáez Comet2, Luis Martinez Lostao3, Adela Marín Ballvé1, Lucio Pallarés Ferreres4, Carmen Pilar Simeón Aznar5, José Velilla Marco2 and Patricia Fanlo Mateo6*
1Department of Internal Medicine, Lozano Blesa University Clinical Hospital, Spain
2Department of Internal Medicine, Miguel Servet University Hospital, Spain
3Department of Immunology, Lozano Blesa University Clinical Hospital, Spain
4Department of Internal Medicine, Son Espases University Hospital, Spain
5Department of Internal Medicine, Valld´Hebron University Hospital, Spain
6Department of Internal Medicine, Navarra Hospital Complex, Spain
*Correspondance to: Patricia Fanlo Mateo
Fulltext PDFObjectives: COVID-19 outcomes in people with systemic autoimmune diseases remain poorly understood. The aim was to examine demographic and clinical factors associated with COVID-19 infection in people with rheumatic disease. Methods: Two phases cross-sectional survey of individuals with rheumatic disease: April 2020 to October 2020. COVID infection, severity of disease, age, sex, smoking status, rheumatic disease diagnosis, comorbidities and rheumatic disease medications taken immediately prior to infection were analyzed. Results: A total of 1,529 individuals with autoimmunity disease diagnosis were included. Of the 50 positive patients, 21 required telephone medical assistance, 16 received assessments by primary care physician, 9 were evaluated in Emergency Department and 4 patient required hospitalization. Multivariate analysis was performed without obtaining differences in any of the systemic autoimmune diseases. Regarding the treatments, significant differences were found (p=0.011) in the treatment with anti TNF with OR: 3.422 (1.322 to 8.858) and a trend towards significance (p=0.094) was observed in patients receiving mycophenolate treatment (OR: 2.016 (0.996-4-081)). Conclusion: Anti-TNF treatment was associated with a greater than 3-fold risk of suffering from SARS-CoV-2 infection, although in all cases it was with mild symptoms. Cumulative incidence up to 5 times higher than the general population, although with large discrepancies in each of the autoimmune diseases.
COVID-19 infection; SARS-CoV-2; Systemic autoimmune disease; Systemic Erithematosus Lupus; Scleroderma; Corticosteroids; Anti-TNF
del Carmelo Gracia Tello B, Sáez Comet L, Martinez Lostao L, Marín Ballvé A, Pallarés Ferreres L, Pilar Simeón Aznar C, et al. COVID GEAS: COVID-19 National Survey in Patients with Systemic Autoimmune Diseases. Int J Intern Emerg Med. 2021; 4(2): 1043.