ABSTRACT
SARS-COV-2 infection has spread worldwide since it originated in December 2019, in Wuhan, China. The pandemic has largely demonstrated the resilience of the world's health systems and is the greatest health emergency since World War II. There is no single therapeutic approach to the treatment of COVID-19 and the associated immune disorder. The lack of randomised clinical trials (RCTs) has led different countries to tackle the disease based on case series, or from results of observational studies with off-label drugs. We as rheumatologists in general, and specifically rheumatology fellows, have been on the front line of the pandemic, modifying our activities and altering our training itinerary. We have attended patients, we have learned about the management of the disease and from our previous experience with drugs for arthritis and giant cell arteritis, we have used these drugs to treat COVID-19.
Subject(s)
Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use , Biological Factors/therapeutic use , COVID-19 Drug Treatment , Immunosuppressive Agents/therapeutic use , Physician's Role , Rheumatologists , Autoimmune Diseases/complications , Autoimmune Diseases/drug therapy , Autoimmune Diseases/immunology , COVID-19/complications , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/immunology , Drug Therapy, Combination , Education, Medical, Graduate , Fellowships and Scholarships , Global Health , Humans , Immunocompromised Host , Opportunistic Infections/complications , Opportunistic Infections/drug therapy , Opportunistic Infections/immunology , Patient Care Team/organization & administration , Practice Patterns, Physicians' , Rheumatic Diseases/complications , Rheumatic Diseases/drug therapy , Rheumatic Diseases/immunology , Rheumatologists/education , Rheumatologists/organization & administration , Rheumatology/education , Rheumatology/methods , Rheumatology/organization & administration , Spain/epidemiologyABSTRACT
SARS-CoV-2 infection has spread worldwide since it originated in December 2019, in Wuhan, China. The pandemic has largely demonstrated the resilience of the world's health systems and is the greatest health emergency since World War II. There is no single therapeutic approach to the treatment of COVID-19 and the associated immune disorder. The lack of randomised clinical trials (RCTs) has led different countries to tackle the disease based on case series, or from results of observational studies with off-label drugs. We as rheumatologists in general, and specifically rheumatology fellows, have been on the front line of the pandemic, modifying our activities and altering our training itinerary. We have attended patients, we have learned about the management of the disease and from our previous experience with drugs for arthritis and giant cell arteritis, we have used these drugs to treat COVID-19.