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Li H, Wallace ZS, Sparks JA, Lu N, Wei J, Xie D, Wang Y, Zeng C, Lei G, Zhang Y. Risk of COVID-19 Among Unvaccinated and Vaccinated Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis: A General Population Study. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken) 2023; 75:956-966. [PMID: 36161711 PMCID: PMC9538842 DOI: 10.1002/acr.25028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Revised: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To determine whether patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at higher risks for SARS-CoV-2 infection and its severe outcomes before and after COVID-19 vaccination. METHODS Using a UK primary care database, we conducted 2 cohort studies to compare the risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19 between patients with RA and the general population according to their COVID-19 vaccination status. We used exposure score overlap weighting to balance baseline characteristics between 2 comparison cohorts. RESULTS Among unvaccinated individuals, the weighted incidence rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection (9.21 versus 8.16 of 1,000 person-months), hospitalization (3.46 versus 2.14 of 1,000 person-months), and death (1.19 versus 0.62 of 1,000 person-months) were higher among patients with RA than the general population over 3 months of follow-up; the corresponding adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) were 1.10 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.00-1.24), 1.62 (95% CI 1.34-1.96), and 1.88 (95% CI 1.37-2.60), respectively. Among vaccinated individuals, the weighted rates of breakthrough infection (4.17 versus 3.96 of 1,000 person-months; HR 1.10 [95% CI 1.00-1.20]) and hospitalization (0.42 versus 0.32 of 1,000 person-months; HR 1.29 [95% CI 0.96-1.75]) were higher among patients with RA than the general population over 9 months of follow-up; however, no apparent difference in the risk of these outcomes was observed over 3 and 6 months of follow-up between 2 comparison cohorts. CONCLUSION Patients with RA are still at higher risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 hospitalization than the general population after receiving COVID-19 vaccines. These findings support booster COVID-19 vaccinations and adherence of other preventive strategies among patients with RA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Li
- Department of Orthopaedics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Zachary S Wallace
- Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Immunology, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- The Mongan Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jeffrey A Sparks
- Division of Rheumatology, Inflammation, and Immunity, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Na Lu
- Arthritis Research Canada, Richmond, BC, Canada
| | - Jie Wei
- Health Management Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Dongxing Xie
- Department of Orthopaedics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Yilun Wang
- Department of Orthopaedics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Chao Zeng
- Department of Orthopaedics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
- Hunan Key Laboratory of Joint Degeneration and Injury, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Guanghua Lei
- Department of Orthopaedics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
- Hunan Key Laboratory of Joint Degeneration and Injury, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Yuqing Zhang
- Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Immunology, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- The Mongan Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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Qian G, Wang X, Patel NJ, Kawano Y, Fu X, Cook CE, Vanni KM, Kowalski EN, Banasiak EP, Bade KJ, Srivatsan S, Williams ZK, Todd DJ, Weinblatt ME, Wallace ZS, Sparks JA. Outcomes with and without outpatient SARS-CoV-2 treatment for patients with COVID-19 and systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases: A retrospective cohort study. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2022:2022.10.27.22281629. [PMID: 36324801 PMCID: PMC9628202 DOI: 10.1101/2022.10.27.22281629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Objective To investigate temporal trends, severe outcomes, and rebound among systemic autoimmune rheumatic disease (SARD) patients according to outpatient SARS-CoV-2 treatment. Methods We performed a retrospective cohort study investigating outpatient SARS-CoV-2 treatments among SARD patients at Mass General Brigham (23/Jan/2022-30/May/2022). We identified SARS-CoV-2 infection by positive PCR or antigen test (index date=first positive test) and SARDs using diagnosis codes and immunomodulator prescription. Outpatient treatments were confirmed by medical record review. The primary outcome was hospitalization or death within 30 days following the index date. COVID-19 rebound was defined as documentation of negative then newly-positive SARS-CoV-2 tests. The association of any vs. no outpatient treatment with hospitalization/death was assessed using multivariable logistic regression. Results We analyzed 704 SARD patients with COVID-19 (mean age 58.4 years, 76% female, 49% with rheumatoid arthritis). Treatment as outpatient increased over calendar time (p<0.001). A total of 426(61%) received outpatient treatment: 307(44%) with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir, 105(15%) with monoclonal antibodies, 5(0.7%) with molnupiravir, 3(0.4%) with outpatient remdesivir, and 6(0.9%) with combinations. There were 9/426 (2.1%) hospitalizations/deaths among those treated as outpatient compared to 49/278 (17.6%) among those with no outpatient treatment (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.12, 0.05 to 0.25). 25/318 (8%) of patients who received oral outpatient treatment had documented COVID-19 rebound. Conclusion Outpatient treatment was strongly associated with lower odds of severe COVID-19 compared to no outpatient treatment. At least 8% of SARD patients experienced COVID-19 rebound. These findings highlight the importance of outpatient COVID-19 treatment for SARD patients and the need for further research on rebound. KEY MESSAGES What is already known on this topic? Previous studies suggest that monoclonal antibodies are an effective outpatient treatment option for patients at high-risk of severe COVID-19, including those with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARDs).Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir and molnupiravir are recently-authorized effective oral outpatient SARS-CoV-2 treatment options, but clinical trials were performed among the general population, mostly among unvaccinated and prior to Omicron viral variants.Oral outpatient SARS-CoV-2 treatments may result in COVID-19 rebound, characterized by newly-positive COVID-19 testing and recurrent symptoms, but no studies have investigated rebound prevalence among SARD patients. What this study adds? This is one of the first studies investigating outpatient SARS-CoV-2 treatments among SARD patients that includes oral options and quantifies the prevalence of COVID-19 rebound.Outpatient treatment was associated with 88% reduced odds of severe COVID-19 compared to no treatment.At least 8% of SARDs receiving oral outpatient treatment experienced COVID-19 rebound. How this study might affect research practice or policy? These results should encourage clinicians to prescribe and SARD patients to seek prompt outpatient COVID-19 treatment.This research provides an early estimate of the prevalence of COVID-19 rebound after oral outpatient treatment to quantify this risk to clinicians and SARD patients and encourage future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grace Qian
- Division of Rheumatology, Inflammation, and Immunity, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA (60 Fenwood Road, Boston, MA, 02115)
| | - Xiaosong Wang
- Division of Rheumatology, Inflammation, and Immunity, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA (60 Fenwood Road, Boston, MA, 02115)
| | - Naomi J. Patel
- Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Immunology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA (Rheumatology Associates, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA, 02114)
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Yumeko Kawano
- Division of Rheumatology, Inflammation, and Immunity, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA (60 Fenwood Road, Boston, MA, 02115)
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Xiaoqing Fu
- Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Immunology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA (Rheumatology Associates, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA, 02114)
| | - Claire E. Cook
- Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Immunology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA (Rheumatology Associates, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA, 02114)
| | - Kathleen M.M. Vanni
- Division of Rheumatology, Inflammation, and Immunity, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA (60 Fenwood Road, Boston, MA, 02115)
| | - Emily N. Kowalski
- Division of Rheumatology, Inflammation, and Immunity, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA (60 Fenwood Road, Boston, MA, 02115)
| | - Emily P. Banasiak
- Division of Rheumatology, Inflammation, and Immunity, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA (60 Fenwood Road, Boston, MA, 02115)
| | - Katarina J. Bade
- Division of Rheumatology, Inflammation, and Immunity, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA (60 Fenwood Road, Boston, MA, 02115)
| | - Shruthi Srivatsan
- Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Immunology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA (Rheumatology Associates, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA, 02114)
| | - Zachary K. Williams
- Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Immunology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA (Rheumatology Associates, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA, 02114)
| | - Derrick J. Todd
- Division of Rheumatology, Inflammation, and Immunity, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA (60 Fenwood Road, Boston, MA, 02115)
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Michael E. Weinblatt
- Division of Rheumatology, Inflammation, and Immunity, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA (60 Fenwood Road, Boston, MA, 02115)
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Zachary S. Wallace
- Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Immunology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA (Rheumatology Associates, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA, 02114)
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Clinical Epidemiology Program, Mongan Institute, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA (The Mongan Institute, 100 Cambridge Street, Suite 1600, Boston, MA, 02114)
| | - Jeffrey A. Sparks
- Division of Rheumatology, Inflammation, and Immunity, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA (60 Fenwood Road, Boston, MA, 02115)
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
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Diamond MS, Lambris JD, Ting JP, Tsang JS. Considering innate immune responses in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19. Nat Rev Immunol 2022; 22:465-470. [PMID: 35788185 PMCID: PMC9252555 DOI: 10.1038/s41577-022-00744-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic, much of the media focus has been on adaptive immunity, particularly antibody levels and memory T cells. However, immunologists have been striving to decipher how SARS-CoV-2 infection impacts our first line of defence, namely the innate immune system. In early 2022, Program staff from the NIAID at the NIH organized a workshop focusing on the innate immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and during COVID-19, which was chaired by Ralph Baric, Jenny Ting and John Lambris. Following the meeting, Nature Reviews Immunology invited some of the organizers and speakers to share their thoughts on the key discussion points.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael S Diamond
- Departments of Medicine, Molecular Microbiology, Pathology & Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA.
| | - John D Lambris
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
| | - Jenny P Ting
- Departments of Genetics, Microbiology and Immunology, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Center for Translational Immunology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
| | - John S Tsang
- Multiscale Systems Biology Section, Laboratory of Immune System Biology, NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA.
- NIH Center for Human Immunology, NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA.
- Department of Immunobiology, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
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