The following is a summary of “Does the Use of Immunosuppressive Drugs Impact on SARS-CoV-2 Infection Outcome? Data From A National Cohort of Patients With Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases (SAR-COVID Registry),” published in the March 2023 issue of Rheumatology by Isnardi, et al.
For a study, researchers sought to investigate the impact of immunomodulatory and/or immunosuppressive (IM/IS) drugs on the outcomes of COVID-19 infection in a cohort of patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs).
The study included adult patients with IMIDs who had confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. The treating physician collected data between August 13, 2020, and July 31, 2021. Sociodemographic data, comorbidities, DMARDs, clinical characteristics, complications, and treatment of the SARS-CoV-2 infection were recorded. Descriptive analysis and multivariable logistic regression models were carried out.
A total of 1,672 patients with IMIDs were enrolled, and 1,402 of them received IM/IS medication. Rheumatoid arthritis (47.7%) and systemic lupus erythematosus (18.4%) were the two most prevalent conditions. In 95.2% of the patients, COVID-19 symptoms were present. About 461 individuals (27.5%) were hospitalized, 8.2% were admitted to the intensive care unit, and 4.4% lost their lives due to COVID-19. Individuals without IM/IS treatment used glucocorticoids less frequently but at larger dosages, had higher levels of disease activity, were noticeably older, were admitted to the intensive care unit more frequently, were hospitalized more frequently, and died from COVID-19. After accounting for these variables, IM/IS drug use was not linked to a worse COVID-19 result (WHO-Ordinal Scale ≥5) (odds ratio, 1.24; 95% CI, 0.73-2.06).
The study showed that IM/IS drug use was not associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes in patients with IMIDs. The use of tocilizumab and anakinra was associated with a lower risk of ICU admission. The SAR-COVID registry is the first multicenter Argentine registry to collect data from patients with rheumatic diseases and SARS-CoV-2 infection.