ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: We have previously shown that trained-immunity-based vaccines, namely TIbV, significantly reduce the rate of recurrent infections, both of the respiratory tract (RRTI) and urinary tract infections (RUTI) in SAD patients on disease-modifying drugs (DMARDs). OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the frequency of RRTI and RUTI from 2018 to 2021 in those SAD patients that received TIbV until 2018. Secondarily, we evaluated the incidence and clinical course of COVID-19 in this cohort. METHODS: A retrospective observational study was conducted in a cohort of SAD patients under active immunosuppression immunized with TIbV (MV130 for RRTI and MV140 for RUTI, respectively). RESULTS: Forty-one SAD patients on active immunosuppression that were given TIbV up to 2018 were studied for RRTI and RUTI during the 2018-2021 period. Approximately half of the patients had no infections during 2018-2021 (51.2% no RUTI and 43.5% no RRTI at all). When we compared the 3-year period with the 1-year pre-TIbV, RRTI (1.61 ± 2.26 vs. 2.76 ± 2.57; p = 0.002) and RUTI (1.56 ± 2.12 vs. 2.69 ± 3.07; p = 0.010) episodes were still significantly lower. Six SAD patients (four RA; one SLE; one MCTD) with RNA-based vaccines were infected with SARS-CoV-2, with mild disease. CONCLUSIONS: Even though the beneficial protective effects against infections of TIbV progressively decreased, they remained low for up to 3 years, with significantly reduced infections compared to the year prior to vaccination, further supporting a long-term benefit of TIbV in this setting. Moreover, an absence of infections was observed in almost half of patients.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: We aimed to describe persistent symptoms and sequelae in patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMD) after admission owing to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), assessing the role of autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARDs) compared with non-autoimmune rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (NARDs) on persistent symptoms and sequelae. METHODS: We performed an observational study including RMD patients who attended a rheumatology clinic in Madrid and required admission owing to COVID-19 (between March and May 2020) and survived. The study began at discharge and ran until October 2020. Main outcomes were persistence of symptoms and sequelae related to COVID-19. The independent variable was the RMD group (ARD and NARD). Covariates included sociodemographics, clinical and treatment data. We ran a multivariate logistic regression model to assess the risk of the main outcomes by RMD group. RESULTS: We included 105 patients, of whom 51.5% had ARD and 68.57% reported at least one persistent symptom. The most frequent symptoms were dyspnoea, fatigue and chest pain. Sequelae were recorded in 31 patients. These included lung damage in 10.4% of patients, lymphopenia in 10%, a central retinal vein occlusion and an optic neuritis. Two patients died. Eleven patients required re-admission owing to COVID-19 problems (16.7% ARD vs 3.9% NARD; P = 0.053). No statistically significant differences were found between RMD groups in the final models. CONCLUSION: Many RMD patients have persistent symptoms, as in other populations. Lung damage is the most frequent sequela. Compared with NARD, ARD does not seem to differ in terms of persistent symptoms or consequences, although ARD might have more re-admissions owing to COVID-19.