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  • The conundrum of COVID-19 treatment targets: the close correlation with rheumatology. Response to: ‘Management of rheumatic diseases in the time of covid-19 pandemic: perspectives of rheumatology pracitioners from India’ by Gupta et al and ‘Antirheumatic…

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Correspondence response
The conundrum of COVID-19 treatment targets: the close correlation with rheumatology. Response to: ‘Management of rheumatic diseases in the time of covid-19 pandemic: perspectives of rheumatology pracitioners from India’ by Gupta et al and ‘Antirheumatic agents in covid-19: is IL-6 the right target?’ by Capeechi et al
  1. Sara Monti,
  2. Carlomaurizio Montecucco
  1. Rheumatology, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy
  1. Correspondence to Dr Sara Monti, Rheumatology, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia 27100, Italy; sara.saramonti{at}gmail.com

https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-217545

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    We thank Capecchi et al 1 for their comment on our paper. The authors suggested that interleukin 6 (IL-6) represents the key cytokine responsible for the majority of pulmonary and cardiovascular complications of COVID-19. Similarly, we have received a comment from Gupta et al 2 who reported the management of rheumatological treatments during COVID-19 pandemic among practitioners in India, revealing that choices were apparently made according to the beliefs on the possible relationships between drug mechanism of action and effect on the viral infection. Both correspondence comments highlighted some striking similarities with changes seen in rheumatological conditions such as the systemic effects of chronic inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis, or laboratory findings resembling macrophage activation syndrome, and argued on the potential applications of rheumatological targeted therapies in this new context, especially …

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    Footnotes

    • Handling editor Josef S Smolen

    • Contributors SM and CM contributed equally to the design and realisation of the manuscript.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient and public involvement Patients and/or the public were not involved in the design, or conduct, or reporting, or dissemination plans of this research.

    • Patient consent for publication Not required.

    • Provenance and peer review Commissioned; internally peer reviewed.

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