73 percent of those with SARS-CoV-2 infection not hospitalized; 11 percent of those hospitalized required ICU admission<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/b><\/p>\n
FRIDAY, Nov. 13, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Patients with rheumatic disease have a low incidence of COVID-19 and most have mild disease, according to research presented at ACR Convergence, the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology, held virtually from Nov. 5 to 9.<\/p>\n
Akhil Sood, M.D., from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, and colleagues conducted a systematic review to examine outcomes of COVID-19 in patients with rheumatic disease. Data were included from eight observational cohort studies with 6,095 patients with rheumatic disease.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that based on clinical features, 2 percent of the patients were positive or highly suspicious for COVID-19 infection. Rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis were the most common rheumatic diseases (28 and 7 percent, respectively). Across all studies, the proportion of COVID-19 patients on biologics was 68 percent, with the most common biologic agent being anti-tumor necrosis factor agents (31 percent). Six percent were users of JAK inhibitors. Overall, 73 percent of those with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection were not hospitalized. Of those who were hospitalized, 13 and four patients (11 and 3.2 percent of total) required intensive care unit admission and died, respectively.<\/p>\n
“We are waiting for additional extensive studies that include more patients with rheumatic disease on biologic and targeted therapies,” Sood said in a statement. “Another area of interest for us is examining risk factors for severe COVID-19 infection in patients with rheumatic disease. We hope this can help us identify which patients to closely monitor and possibly develop precautions to mitigate their risk.”<\/p>\n
Press Release<\/a><\/p>\n