PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Pablos, Jose L
AU  - Abasolo, Lydia
AU  - Alvaro-Gracia, Jose M
AU  - Blanco, Francisco J
AU  - Blanco, Ricardo
AU  - Castrejón, Isabel
AU  - Fernandez-Fernandez, David
AU  - Fernandez-Gutierrez, Benjamín
AU  - Galindo-Izquierdo, María
AU  - Gonzalez-Gay, Miguel A
AU  - Manrique-Arija, Sara
AU  - Mena Vázquez, Natalia
AU  - Mera Varela, Antonio
AU  - Retuerto, Miriam
AU  - Seijas-Lopez, Alvaro
ED - 
TI  - Prevalence of hospital PCR-confirmed COVID-19 cases in patients with chronic inflammatory and autoimmune rheumatic diseases
AID  - 10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-217763
DP  - 2020 Sep 01
TA  - Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
PG  - 1170--1173
VI  - 79
IP  - 9
4099  - http://ard.bmj.com/content/79/9/1170.short
4100  - http://ard.bmj.com/content/79/9/1170.full
SO  - Ann Rheum Dis2020 Sep 01; 79
AB  - Background The susceptibility of patients with rheumatic diseases and the risks or benefits of immunosuppressive therapies for COVID-19 are unknown.Methods We performed a retrospective study with patients under follow-up in rheumatology departments from seven hospitals in Spain. We matched updated databases of rheumatology patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-positive PCR tests performed in the hospital to the same reference populations. Rates of PCR+ confirmed COVID-19 were compared among groups.Results Patients with chronic inflammatory diseases had 1.32-fold higher prevalence of hospital PCR+ COVID-19 than the reference population (0.76% vs 0.58%). Patients with systemic autoimmune or immune-mediated disease (AI/IMID) showed a significant increase, whereas patients with inflammatory arthritis (IA) or systemic lupus erythematosus did not. COVID-19 cases in some but not all diagnostic groups had older ages than cases in the reference population. Patients with IA on targeted-synthetic or biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), but not those on conventional-synthetic DMARDs, had a greater prevalence despite a similar age distribution.Conclusion Patients with AI/IMID show a variable risk of hospital-diagnosed COVID-19. Interplay of ageing, therapies and disease-specific factors seem to contribute. These data provide a basis to improve preventive recommendations to rheumatic patients and to analyse the specific factors involved in COVID-19 susceptibility.