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Letter
Susceptibility and severity of COVID-19 in patients treated with bDMARDS and tsDMARDs: a population-based study
  1. Carlo Salvarani1,2,
  2. Gianluigi Bajocchi1,
  3. Pamela Mancuso3,
  4. Elena Galli1,
  5. Francesco Muratore1,
  6. Luigi Boiardi1,
  7. Mariagrazia Catanoso1,
  8. Nicolò Pipitone1,
  9. Giulia Cassone1,
  10. Nicolò Girolimetto1,
  11. Stefania Croci4,
  12. Luca Cimino5,
  13. Federeica Gradellini6,
  14. Marina Beltrami7,
  15. Vito Di Lernia8,
  16. Giovammi Dolci9,
  17. Marco Massari9,
  18. Anna Maria Marata10,
  19. Massimo Costantini11,
  20. Paolo Giorgi Rossi12
  1. 1 Unit of Rheumatology, Azienda USL di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
  2. 2 Department of Surgery, Medicine, Dentistry and Morphological Sciences with Interest in Transplant, Oncology and Regenerative Medicine, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
  3. 3 Department of Epidemiology Service, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
  4. 4 Department of Clinical Immunology, Allergy and Advanced Biotechnologies Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
  5. 5 Department of Ophthalmology, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
  6. 6 Department of Pharmaceutical Service, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
  7. 7 Gastoenterology and Medicine Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
  8. 8 Dermatology Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
  9. 9 Infective Disease Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
  10. 10 Commissione Regionale del Farmaco, Regione Emilia-Romagna, Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
  11. 11 Department of Scientific Directorate, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
  12. 12 Servizio di epidemiologia, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
  1. Correspondence to Professor Carlo Salvarani, Unit of Rheumatology, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy; carlo.salvarani{at}ausl.re.it

https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-217903

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    Patients with autoimmune conditions treated with biological agents have an increased risk of severe infections.1 2 Very few studies have evaluated the susceptibility and severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in patients treated with biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) or targeted synthetic DMARDs (tsDMARDs).3 4 Some of these studies suggest a protective role of these drugs for COVID-19; however, they consist of small series, and the results are unclear.

    Therefore, we decided to evaluate in a population-based study the risk of COVID-19 infection and its severity in the patients treated with bDMARDs or tsDMARDs in a geographic area (Emilia Romagna) at high diffusion of COVID-19.

    We identified 1195 patients treated with the bDMARDs or tsDMARDs listed in table 1 in Reggio Emilia area on 31 December 2019. Biological agents were classified according to the mechanism of action. The patients were registered in the database of the Hospital Pharmaceutical Service of the Reggio Emilia area, which delivers the drug directly to the patients. The database is updated every 3 months. All residents …

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    Footnotes

    • Handling editor Josef S Smolen

    • Contributors All authors were involved in drafting the manuscript or revising it critically, and approved the final version. CS had full access to all the data in the study and takes responsability for the integrity of the data and accuracy of the data analysis. Study design: CS, GB, EG, FM, LB, MC, NP, GC, NG, SC, MB, VDL, GD, MM, AMM, MC, PGR. Statistical analysis: PM, MC, PGR. Data Collection: CS, GB, EG, FM, LB, MC, NP, GC, NG, SC, MB, VDL, GD, MM, AMM, MC, PGR.

    • 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 Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.