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  • Ensuring tight control in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with targeted therapies during the COVID-19 pandemic using a telehealth strategy

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Letter
Ensuring tight control in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with targeted therapies during the COVID-19 pandemic using a telehealth strategy
  1. Francesca Ingegnoli1,2,
  2. Gilberto Cincinelli1,2,
  3. Angela Flavia Luppino1,2,
  4. Ennio Giulio Favalli2,
  5. Annalisa Orenti1,3,
  6. Patrizia Boracchi1,3,
  7. Roberto Caporali1,2
  1. 1 Dept. of Clinical Sciences & Community Health, Research Center for Adult and Pediatric Rheumatic Diseases, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy
  2. 2 Dept of Rheumatology & Clinical Sciences, Clinical Rheumatology Unit, ASST Gaetano Pini-CTO, Milano, Italy
  3. 3 Lab of Medical Statistics, Epidemiology and Biometry GA Maccacaro, Milano, Italy
  1. Correspondence to Professor Francesca Ingegnoli, Department of Clinical & Community Science, University of Milano, UNIMI, Milano 20122, Italy; francesca.ingegnoli{at}unimi.it

https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-220142

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    COVID-19 pandemic in its early months has deeply influenced rheumatic patients’ follow-up in terms of treatment adherence, disease control achieved with treat-to-target and tight-control strategies. Nationwide mitigation strategies such as confinement, travel restrictions and inadequate access to routine visits catalysed the rapid switch to remote rheumatologic consultations as an attempt to partially compensate for the decline of in-person outpatient visits.

    This observational retrospective study was conducted to establish if the hybrid of in-person and telephone tight-control approach activated by our rheumatology unit in Milan (Italy) during the first lockdown (LD) period has been effective in maintaining remission in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with targeted therapies and to identify potential factors associated with its maintenance.

    Data were extracted from a longitudinal observational registry (Eethics Committee 138_1999) including consecutive adult patients with RA treated with biologic or targeted synthetic drugs. During the first pandemic wave, before the visit, rheumatologists provided virtual care handled by telephone to assess the clinical status and to guarantee the absence of current contraindications to therapy. After tele counselling, based on the care required, patients …

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    Footnotes

    • Handling editor Josef S Smolen

    • Contributors All authors contributed to study design. FI, FL, GC contributed to data collection. All authors contributed to data analysis and interpretation. PB and AO contributed to statistical analysis. All authors contributed to drafting of the manuscript.

    • Competing interests None declared.

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

    • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.