Patients with rheumatic disease, COVID-19 more likely to require ventilation

...but I'm guessing we suspected this.

Results from a Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital study.

healio.com/news/rheumatolog...

[Telian]

Yes we did.

There’s still lots to learn and personally I’ll keep staying safe.

What else can we do - it’s a new disease and can only trust the medical profession will come up with a cure but that’s not yet.

[Rimmy]

Oh dear more 'grist to the mill' - but not the 'right' kind (yet anyway). XX

[PMRpro Ambassador]

However, the article itself says:

"This study offers some important insight into COVID-19 in patients with rheumatic illness, but I am not certain the conclusion is justified. Specifically, the researchers believe that patients with rheumatic diseases had a higher rate of ICU admission and mechanical ventilation but do not adequately account for the effect of higher comorbidities of CAD, ILD and OSA. Similar hospitalization rates and similar mortality statistics are very encouraging. I certainly agree that further study is needed."

We have a few people on the forum who I know have had it - not sure if any required ventilation. Rheumatologists have been working on ICU because of their experience with the drugs being used, A few have said, anecdotally obviously, that they are surprised how few rheumy patients have been in ICU.

[MrsNails in reply to PMRpro]

My Consultant said the same, again anecdotally, that there has not been a huge amount of Rheumatology Patients, this could be due to many of them being Shielded.....

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to MrsNails]

That was my thought - and I think there will be very different results in various countries. Here we didn't have shielding as such - all over 65s were told to stay at home except to shop for food. Haven't see Christian to ask what they saw here.

[Hidden in reply to PMRpro]

It was just a short article, about a very small study... The intent was not to scaremonger, nor did I post it because I saw it as a definitive on the narrative... it was just another article related to PMR.

[KellyInTexas in reply to PMRpro]

I have to wonder, PMRpro, if some auto immune patients who do not have compromised systems, ( no low compliments, no immunosuppressive drugs) would not fare a little better right now?

The only reason I ask myself this, is in light of lupus only.

Dr Hughes (RV Hughes) who founded the London Lupus Center - said one clue is helping diagnosing lupus is asking if the patient was prone to catiching a lot of colds. If the patient said yes- probably not lupus.

Lupus causes the immune system to be overactive. Patients tend not to get very many colds he said. If the patient says, no- never seem to catch colds- more reason to look to lupus diagnosis.

Since other rheumatic auto immune diseases are also an over reaction of the immune system, might this offer a little bit of protection?

Just a random thought I’ve been having- an open tab running in the back ground I haven’t closed- probably just slowing down my mental processing speed ... maybe for no good reason .

What are your thoughts on this?

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to KellyInTexas]

I don't know - but I suspect it could be the case. The same as some of our medication may turn out to have been protective. But no-one could have known.