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  • COVID-19 prevalence and the impact on quality of life from stringent social distancing in a single large UK rheumatology centre

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Correspondence
COVID-19 prevalence and the impact on quality of life from stringent social distancing in a single large UK rheumatology centre
  1. Natasha Cleaton1,
  2. Sabrina Raizada1,
  3. Nick Barkham1,
  4. Srinivasan Venkatachalam1,
  5. Tom Sheeran1,
  6. Tochukwu Adizie1,
  7. Hem Sapkota1,
  8. Baldev Singh2,
  9. James Bateman1
  1. 1 Department of Rheumatology, Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust, Wolverhampton, UK
  2. 2 Department of Diabetes and Endocrinology, Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust, Wolverhampton, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr James Bateman, Department of Rheumatology, Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust, Wolverhampton WV10 0QP, UK; jamesbateman{at}nhs.net

https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-218236

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    We were interested to read the recent report from Gianfrancesco et al 1 in which they highlight impacts of medication on COVID-19 rates from an international registry. An important public health prevention measure advocated by European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) and the British Society for Rheumatology has been stringent social isolation ‘shielding’ for patients on current immunomodulatory medication. ‘Shielding’ patients remain isolated in their homes, having minimal contact with even members of their household, for potentially 12 weeks or more.2 To complement Gianfresesco’s1 work, we present data from a large rheumatology cohort in the UK evaluating impact of treatment group and shielding on COVID-19 incidence. We also present data on impact of therapy and shielding on health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

    We undertook an audit of our follow-up patient cohort (1 February 2020 to 1 May 2020) and found death rates from swab confirmed COVID-19in that population (12/10387; 0.12%), similar to the local population (4131/7 415 149; 0.12%), compiled from a regional COVID-19 test database. We then audited follow-up patients with a recorded mobile phone number for clinician contact by a linked mobile-phone short message service (SMS) message, previously described.3 This method enables rapid response and provides a feedback rate comparable …

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    Footnotes

    • Twitter @jamesbateman

    • Contributors The methodology was developed by JB, TS and NC. The study was conceived by JB and NC and designed by JB, NC and TS: it was internally reviewed and piloted by SR, NB, SV, TA, HS and BS. The manuscript was drafted by NC and JB and reviewed by all authors prior to final submission.

    • 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.

    • Disclaimer The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust or NHS England.

    • 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.