INADEQUATE IMMUNE RESPONSE TO COVID-19 VACCINES IN THE PRESENCE OF DISEASE-MODIFYING ANTIRHEUMATIC DRUGS (DMARDS)

ABSTRACT

SESSION TITLE Issues After COVID-19 Vaccination Case Posters SESSION TYPE Case Report Posters PRESENTED ON 10/19/2022 1245 pm - 0145 pm INTRODUCTION: Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines were introduced to mitigate the spread of the virus. Depending on the COVID-19 vaccine, regimens consist of one dose (ie, J&J) or two doses (ie, Pfizer and Moderna) and is followed by a third dose/booster (for immunocompromised/immunocompetent individuals). Here, we present a case of COVID-19 infection in a triple vaccinated patient with concurrent rheumatoid arthritis (RA) receiving disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) who was unable to mount an adequate immune response to the vaccine. CASE PRESENTATION Patient is a 67 year old male with PMH of RA (on DMARDs) presented to the ED with complaints of shortness of breath. He was on treatment for RA with leflunomide, rituximab and prednisone. He was COVID-19 triple vaccinated. In ED, the patient was found to be hypoxic, saturating at 87% on room air with a respiratory rate of 18. Physical examination was significant for coarse breath sounds bilaterally and remaining vitals were unremarkable. Patient was initially placed on 3 L oxygen via NC but due to persistent hypoxia, was transitioned to high-flow nasal cannula. Further investigations revealed that the patient was COVID-19 positive. He was treated with remdesivir and dexamethasone. His oxygen requirements continued to escalate and he was ultimately intubated. While in the ICU, the patient's hypoxia continued to worsen despite optimal medical and ventilatory management and he subsequently died. DISCUSSION: DMARDs are a group of medications used to slow the progression of rheumatoid arthritis. They work by reducing the immune response of B cells, T cells and cytokines. Our patient was on two commonly prescribed medications for rheumatoid arthritis, leflunomide and rituximab. The former acts by inhibiting the pyrimidine synthesis pathway, thereby decreasing T lymphocyte production and the latter depletes CD-20 positive B cells. While there is limited data on COVID-19 vaccine, it has been established that patients on DMARDs have reduced antibody titres after immunization against influenza and pneumonia vaccinations [1, 2]. A study assessing the effectiveness of a third vaccine dose in patients taking rituximab vs placebo found a significant difference in seroconversion (78.8% vs 18.2%, p=<0.0001) and neutralizing activity (80.0% vs 21.9%, p=<0.0001) [3]. In our case, the patient was on two immunosuppressive drugs which suppressed both the humoral and cell mediated immunity, resulting in an inadequate immune response and subsequently developing COVID. CONCLUSIONS: This case highlights patients on immunosuppressant therapy failing to mount an adequate immune response to the COVID-19 vaccine, warranting more booster doses in patients on DMARDs. Reference #1 Adler S, Krivine A, Weix J et al. Protective effect of A/ H1N1 vaccination in immune-mediated disease–a prospectively controlled vaccination study. Rheumatology 2012;51695–700. Reference #2 Franca ILA, Ribeiro ACM, Aikawa NE et al. TNF blockers show distinct patterns of immune response to the pandemic influenza A H1N1 vaccine in inflammatory arthritis patients. Rheumatology 2012;512091–8. Reference #3 David S, Koray T, Filippo F et al. Efficacy and safety of SARS-CoV-2 revaccination in non-responders with immune-mediated inflammatory disease. http//dx.doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-221554 DISCLOSURES No relevant relationships by Gursharan Kaur No relevant relationships by Aishwarya Krishnaiah No relevant relationships by sandeep mandal