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Journal ArticleDOI

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and immune-mediated rheumatic diseases. Recommendations of the association of rheumatologists of Russia

TL;DR: The new version of the recommendations of the Association of Rheumatologists of Russia formulates the main provisions concerning the tactics of managing patients with Immune-mediated Rheumatic Diseases during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Abstract: In mid-2021, the SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory coronavirus 2) infection, which caused the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, affected more than 157 million people in all regions of the world and led to more than 3.2 million deaths. It is assumed that elderly age, uncontrolled inflammation, anti-inflammatory therapy, comorbid pathology, genetic and other factors can potentially lead to an increase in “sensitivity” to viral and bacterial infections, including SARS-CoV-2. The new version of the recommendations of the Association of Rheumatologists of Russia formulates the main provisions concerning the tactics of managing patients with Immune-mediated Rheumatic Diseases during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

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Journal ArticleDOI
05 Sep 2021
TL;DR: According to the recommendations of the Association of Rheumatologists of Russia, a more rigorous assessment of indications for induction and maintenance therapy of RTX therapy and harmonization of the timing of drug administration and vaccination is required.
Abstract: In patients with immune-mеdiated (autoimmune) rheumatic diseases (IMIRD), there are a number of factors (advanced age, uncontrolled inflammation, initially irreversible damage to internal organs, comorbid pathology, genetic and other factors) that can potentially lead to an increase in “sensitivity” to SARS-CoV -2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2) and concomitant viral and bacterial infections, an increase in the risk of a severe course of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), a decrease in the effectiveness of therapy for both IMIRDs and COVID-19. An important area of pharmacotherapy for IMIRDs and other autoimmune diseases is associated with the use of anti-B-cell drugs, primarily rituximab (RTX), which is a chimeric (mouse/human) monoclonal antibody (mAb) to the CD20 antigen of B cells. At present, in Russia, the RTM biosimilar, acellbia (BIOCAD), is widely used, which is not inferior to RTX in terms of efficiency and safety. The problems of anti-B-cell therapy during the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to the risk of infection, severe course and insufficient effectiveness of vaccination against SARSCoV- 2 are considered. According to the recommendations of the Association of Rheumatologists of Russia, a more rigorous assessment of indications for induction and maintenance therapy of RTX therapy and harmonization of the timing of drug administration and vaccination is required.

8 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The frequency of exacerbation of RD after vaccination against COVID-19 seems to be quite low (5–7%) and has no significant associations with a specific vaccine or anti-rheumatic therapy, and unambiguous interpretation is difficult.
Abstract: The problem of coronavirus disease 2019 (Coronavirus diseases, COVID-19) two years later still remains relevant both socially and medically. As one of the methods of combating the current COVID-19 pandemic, most experts rely on the widespread use of vaccination. However, the use of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 in patients with rheumatic diseases (RD) raises a number of issues related to the effectiveness, immunogenicity, and safety of immunization, including leveling the risks of exacerbation of the underlying disease or the development of new autoimmune phenomena. For this reason it is very important to analyze data on the above-mentioned aspects in real time, especially given that patients of the rheumatology circle were excluded from the clinical development programs of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. This review presents the results of last year’s research on the safety of vaccination against COVID-19 in patients with RS. A brief description of the main anticovedic vaccines is given. Post-vaccination adverse events were quite frequent after the first, second or both doses of vaccines in patients with RS, which is consistent with the data obtained in the general population. In general, the frequency of exacerbation of RD after vaccination against COVID-19 seems to be quite low (5–7%) and has no significant associations with a specific vaccine or anti-rheumatic therapy. At the same time, unambiguous interpretation of these data is difficult for at least three reasons: a) in many studies, only the symptoms developing after the first dose of the vaccine were taken into account; b) the time-limited post-vaccination follow-up period; c) significant discrepancies in the interpretation of exacerbations of the disease. Within the framework of the problem under consideration, there are still a lot of questions, the answers to which should be obtained in large prospective controlled studies.

7 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The current achievements, trends and recommendations regarding the use of JAK inhibitors in the treatment of IMIDs and also in the hyper-response phase of COVID-19 are reviewed.
Abstract: Despite great advances in the diagnosis and treatment of Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs), which have led to a significant improvement in the prognosis in many patients, the central medical problems of this pathology – restoring the quality of life and reducing mortality to the population level – are far from being resolved. This served as a powerful stimulus for the study of new approaches to the pharmacotherapy of IMIDs, one of which is associated with the discovery of targets for small-molecule therapeutics that inhibit intracellular “signaling” molecules JAKs (Janus kinases). The current achievements, trends and recommendations regarding the use of JAK inhibitors in the treatment of IMIDs and also in the hyper-response phase of COVID-19 are reviewed.

6 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
09 Jul 2022
TL;DR: It is thought that SARS-CoV-2 infection may be a trigger factor for new rheumatic musculoskeletal diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis or COVID-19 can unmask previously undetected RA, and arthritis in the post covid period may induce problems in differential diagnosis of rhematic diseases.
Abstract: In the third year of the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, COVID-19) pandemic doctors are encountering a new pathology – post-COVID-19 syndrome (PCS, long covid). Musculoskeletal manifestations are among the most common and may present as myalgia, arthralgia, or arthritis. Currently, there is no generally accepted definition of the disease, its duration, classification, or diagnostic criteria, and no single view on the “content” of musculoskeletal manifestations of PCS. We have enough descriptions of the debut of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) after SARS-CoV-2. That is a question: it is a coincidence, or COVID-19 may be a trigger factor of RA? We thought that SARS-CoV-2 infection may be a trigger factor for new rheumatic musculoskeletal diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis or COVID-19 can unmask previously undetected RA. The occurrence of arthritis may be a sign of PCS with transient character. So arthritis in the post covid period may induce problems in differential diagnosis of rheumatic diseases.

4 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Preliminary data suggest that vaccination against COVID-19 in patients with IRD appears to be quite safe, and further studies are needed to investigate the safety, immunogenicity, and clinical efficacy of CO VID-19 immunization in rheumatic patients.
Abstract: Objective: to assess the safety of COVID-19 vaccines in patients with immunoinflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRD) in real clinical practice.Patients and methods. A cross-sectional study of patients with IRD, who were admitted to V.A. Nasonova Research Institute of Rheumatology for inpatient or outpatient treatment. All patients received at least 1 dose of vaccine against COVID-19 (main group). The control group consisted of vaccinated persons without IRD. All participants were interviewed by the researcher by filling out a unified questionnaire, additional information was obtained from medical records.Results and discussion. The study included 204 patients with IRD (151 of them were vaccinated with Sputnik V, 31 with Sputnik Light, 19 with СoviVac, 3 with EpiVacCorona; 173 patients received the second component of vaccine) and 131 subjects without IRD (101 of them were vaccinated with Sputnik V, 17 – CoviVak, 5 – Sputnik Light, 2 – EpiVacCorona, 6 – Pfizer/BioNTech; 124 patients received the second component of the vaccine). The number of patients with IRD who had both local and systemic reactions after administration of the first component of the vaccine was significantly less than in the control group (19.6 and 38.9%, respectively; p<0.001). Similar differences were noted after the administration of the second component (15.6 and 27.4%, respectively; p=0.013). Adverse events (AEs) such as pain at the injection site without restriction of movement, weakness, fever, arthralgia/myalgia and chills were significantly more common in the control group after the administration of the first component of the vaccine. After complete immunization, AEs were absent in 35.8% of patients with IRD and in 21% of controls (p=0.006). Exacerbations of IRD and new autoimmune phenomena were not registered in any case.Conclusion. According to preliminary data, vaccination against COVID-19 in patients with IRD appears to be quite safe. Further studies are needed to investigate the safety, immunogenicity, and clinical efficacy of COVID-19 immunization in rheumatic patients.

3 citations

References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In patients hospitalized with Covid-19, the use of dexamethasone resulted in lower 28-day mortality among those who were receiving either invasive mechanical ventilation or oxygen alone at randomization but not among those receiving no respiratory support.
Abstract: BackgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is associated with diffuse lung damage. Glucocorticoids may modulate inflammation-mediated lung injury and thereby reduce progression to respiratory failure and death.MethodsIn this controlled, open-label trial comparing a range of possible treatments in patients who were hospitalized with Covid-19, we randomly assigned patients to receive oral or intravenous dexamethasone (at a dose of 6 mg once daily) for up to 10 days or to receive usual care alone. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality. Here, we report the final results of this assessment.ResultsA total of 2104 patients were assigned to receive dexamethasone and 4321 to receive usual care. Overall, 482 patients (22.9%) in the dexamethasone group and 1110 patients (25.7%) in the usual care group died within 28 days after randomization (age-adjusted rate ratio, 0.83; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.75 to 0.93; P<0.001). The proportional and absolute between-group differences in mortality varied considerably according to the level of respiratory support that the patients were receiving at the time of randomization. In the dexamethasone group, the incidence of death was lower than that in the usual care group among patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation (29.3% vs. 41.4%; rate ratio, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.51 to 0.81) and among those receiving oxygen without invasive mechanical ventilation (23.3% vs. 26.2%; rate ratio, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.72 to 0.94) but not among those who were receiving no respiratory support at randomization (17.8% vs. 14.0%; rate ratio, 1.19; 95% CI, 0.92 to 1.55).ConclusionsIn patients hospitalized with Covid-19, the use of dexamethasone resulted in lower 28-day mortality among those who were receiving either invasive mechanical ventilation or oxygen alone at randomization but not among those receiving no respiratory support. (Funded by the Medical Research Council and National Institute for Health Research and others; RECOVERY ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04381936. opens in new tab; ISRCTN number, 50189673. opens in new tab.)

4,501 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
08 Jul 2020-Nature
TL;DR: A range of clinical factors associated with COVID-19-related death is quantified in one of the largest cohort studies on this topic so far and includes people of white ethnicity, Black and South Asian people were at higher risk, even after adjustment for other factors.
Abstract: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rapidly affected mortality worldwide1. There is unprecedented urgency to understand who is most at risk of severe outcomes, and this requires new approaches for the timely analysis of large datasets. Working on behalf of NHS England, we created OpenSAFELY-a secure health analytics platform that covers 40% of all patients in England and holds patient data within the existing data centre of a major vendor of primary care electronic health records. Here we used OpenSAFELY to examine factors associated with COVID-19-related death. Primary care records of 17,278,392 adults were pseudonymously linked to 10,926 COVID-19-related deaths. COVID-19-related death was associated with: being male (hazard ratio (HR) 1.59 (95% confidence interval 1.53-1.65)); greater age and deprivation (both with a strong gradient); diabetes; severe asthma; and various other medical conditions. Compared with people of white ethnicity, Black and South Asian people were at higher risk, even after adjustment for other factors (HR 1.48 (1.29-1.69) and 1.45 (1.32-1.58), respectively). We have quantified a range of clinical factors associated with COVID-19-related death in one of the largest cohort studies on this topic so far. More patient records are rapidly being added to OpenSAFELY, we will update and extend our results regularly.

4,263 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 has an acceptable safety profile and has been found to be efficacious against symptomatic COVID-19 in this interim analysis of ongoing clinical trials.

3,741 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The basic virology of SARS-CoV-2 is described, including genomic characteristics and receptor use, highlighting its key difference from previously known coronaviruses.
Abstract: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a highly transmissible and pathogenic coronavirus that emerged in late 2019 and has caused a pandemic of acute respiratory disease, named ‘coronavirus disease 2019’ (COVID-19), which threatens human health and public safety. In this Review, we describe the basic virology of SARS-CoV-2, including genomic characteristics and receptor use, highlighting its key difference from previously known coronaviruses. We summarize current knowledge of clinical, epidemiological and pathological features of COVID-19, as well as recent progress in animal models and antiviral treatment approaches for SARS-CoV-2 infection. We also discuss the potential wildlife hosts and zoonotic origin of this emerging virus in detail. In this Review, Shi and colleagues summarize the exceptional amount of research that has characterized acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) since this virus has swept around the globe. They discuss what we know so far about the emergence and virology of SARS-CoV-2 and the pathogenesis and treatment of COVID-19.

2,904 citations