ABSTRACT
Introduction: The Age-related DeVelopments ANd Comorbidities in haemophilia (ADVANCE) Working Group is a European collaboration of over 20 Haemophilia Treatment Centres (HTCs) that focuses on the management of PWH aged >=40 years. As it soon became apparent that the risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19 infection was increased in older adults, we aimed to identify the incidence, severity and outcomes of COVID-19 inPWHaged >=40 years treated at ADVANCE centres. Method(s): The number of hospital admissions, ICU admissions and deaths due to COVID-19 was recorded retrospectively via survey for all patients aged >=40 years with haemophilia A or B at ADVANCE HTCs throughout the pandemic over a 24-month period (until 30 April 2022). Patient numbers were recorded for the most serious outcome at month/year of first occurrence. Aggregated data was provided as requested by Ethical Committees. For reported cases, information on age, comorbidities and risk factors for severeCOVID-19 infection were collected where available. Result(s): Of the overall haemophilia A and B population, 36/4166 suffered a serious outcome due to COVID-19 infection;27 required hospital admission, 5 were admitted to the ICU and 4 died (3 with haemophilia A and 1 with haemophilia B). Nearly all patients with haemophilia A who were admitted to the ICU or died had >=1 comorbidity associated with worse outcomes. Most reported cases occurred early in the pandemic with no clear distinction according to haemophilia severity or age. Discussion/Conclusion: This is the first study to evaluate the impact of the pandemic on PWH >=40 years in terms of severe adverse clinical outcomes. Although only limited data were collected, the study provides reassurance that the haemophilia population was not at risk of more serious outcomes due to their haemophilia alone.