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Correspondence
COVID-19 outcomes in patients with systemic autoimmune diseases treated with immunomodulatory drugs
  1. Khalil Ansarin1,2,
  2. Ali Taghizadieh2,
  3. Saeid Safiri3,4,
  4. Aida Malek Mahdavi5,
  5. Shirin Ranjbar5,
  6. Soheil Teymouri6,
  7. Masoud Ahangari Maleki5,
  8. Alireza Khabbazi5
  1. 1 Rahat Breath and Sleep Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, East Azerbaijan, Iran
  2. 2 Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, East Azerbaijan, Iran
  3. 3 Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Research Center, Aging Research Institute, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, East Azerbaijan, Iran
  4. 4 Department of Community Medicine, School of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, East Azerbaijan, Iran
  5. 5 Connective Tissue Diseases Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, East Azerbaijan, Iran
  6. 6 Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, East Azerbaijan, Iran
  1. Correspondence to Dr Alireza Khabbazi, Connective Tissue Diseases Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, East Azerbaijan 5166614756, Iran; dr_khabbazi{at}yahoo.com

https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-218737

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    We read with great interest the paper published by Gianfrancesco and colleagues in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases in 2020.1 They examined demographic and clinical factors associated with COVID-19 hospitalisation status in people with rheumatic disease using 600 cases from 40 countries. In their multivariable model, it was found that prednisone dose ≥10 mg/day (OR: 2.05, 95% CI 1.06 to 3.96) and anti-tumour necrosis factor inhibitor use (OR: 0.40, 95% CI 0.19 to 0.81) were associated with odds of hospitalisation.1

    Patients with autoimmune diseases (AD) are at an increased risk of infectious diseases due to the effects of the disease on the immune system function, much comorbidity caused by various comorbidities such as kidney and lung damage, diabetes mellitus and hypertension, as well as the chronic use of immunomodulatory drugs.2 3 Patients treated with immunomodulatory drugs are vulnerable to viral infections,3 4 and worse prognosis of COVID-19 is probable in patients with ADs5 that need to be studied. Here, we would like to share our study results that were conducted on patients …

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors Study design: KA, SS, AT, AMM, AK. Data collection: KA, SR, AT, ST, MAM, AK. Data analysis: SS, AK. Interpretation of findings: KA, SS, AT, AK. Preparation of manuscript: KA, SS, AMM, ST, AK. All authors read and approved the final 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 involved in the design, or conduct, or reporting, or dissemination plans of this research. Refer to the Methods section for further details.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.

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