Incidence and clinical course of COVID-19 in patients with rheumatologic diseases: A population-based study.
Semin Arthritis Rheum
; 50(5): 885-889, 2020 10.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-665551
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
Patients with rheumatologic diseases might be more susceptible to COVID-19 and carry a poorer prognosis. The aim of this study is to examine the incidence and outcomes of all COVID-19 patients with rheumatologic conditions in Hong Kong.METHODS:
This is a population-based retrospective study. All patients tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by PCR with a previous diagnosis of rheumatologic diseases were reviewed. The incidence of COVID-19 in patients with rheumatologic conditions was calculated and compared to the general population in Hong Kong. Descriptive data of those rheumatologic patients with COVID-19 and the clinical course of the index infection were presented.RESULTS:
Up till 27 May 2020, there were 1067 cases of COVID-19 diagnosed in Hong Kong which had a population of 7.5 million. Out of the 39,835 patients with underlying rheumatologic diseases, we identified 5 PCR confirmed COVID-19 cases. The estimated incidence of COVID-19 was 0.0126% patients with rheumatologic diseases, compared to 0.0142% in the general population. All 5 patients had inflammatory arthropathies. One patient was on hydroxychloroquine and sulphasalazine, and one was on methotrexate. None of the 3534 patients on b/tsDMARDs was infected. Four patients had leucopenia/lymphopenia and stool viral PCR was positive in 3 patients. All patients made uneventful recovery without complications or flare of underlying diseases.CONCLUSIONS:
We found no alarming signals of increased frequency or severity of COVID-19 in patients with rheumatologic diseases, although extrapolation of the results to other populations with different infection control strategies should be made with caution.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Rheumatic Diseases
/
Coronavirus Infections
/
Antirheumatic Agents
/
Clinical Laboratory Techniques
/
Pandemics
/
Betacoronavirus
/
Joint Diseases
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
Semin Arthritis Rheum
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
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