Abstract
Objective
The implications of Covid-19 in patients with Behçet’s disease (BD) are unknown. Patients with BD usually take long-term therapy with therapeutic agents that have been tested in Covid-19 patients. We aimed to assess the prevalence of Covid-19 in a cohort of patients with BD and investigate whether those patients with a long-term treatment with colchicine, tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) or glucocorticoids are at reduced or increased prevalence of Covid-19 related clinical outcomes.
Methods
A retrospective study was conducted among 244 patients with BD (86.1% females; mean age 43.95 ± 11.11 years). Each participant completed an online questionnaire regarding demographics, medical conditions, dispensed colchicine, TNFi or oral glucocorticoids, Covid-19 infection, clinical symptoms and recovery.
Results
The prevalence of Covid-19 infection was 14.75%. Regarding dose of colchicine, the presence of ageusia was lower in patients taking 0.5 mg/day of colchicine compared to those taking 1.5 mg/day (p = 0.021). The prevalence of dyspnea was significantly higher in patients taking TNFi compared with those without therapy (p = 0.032). With regards to oral glucocorticoids, no significant differences were found.
Conclusions
The prevalence of Covid-19 among patients with BD seems to be higher than that among the general population in Spain. Continuous TNFi therapy might increase the prevalence of worse clinical outcomes such as dyspnea; oral glucocorticoids and colchicine apparently provided no protection against the Covid-19 related clinical outcomes of patients with BD.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, Glucocorticoids, Colchicine, Behçet disease, Tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitor, 【초록키워드】 Necrosis, therapy, Infection, glucocorticoid, clinical outcomes, Clinical outcome, Prevalence, Retrospective study, Ageusia, Dyspnea, Patient, Spain, age, therapeutic agent, General population, inhibitor, disease, questionnaire, patients, dose, Medical conditions, demographics, no significant difference, clinical symptom, long-term treatment, implication, objective, Result, tested, conducted, provided, reduced, significantly higher, cohort of patient, Continuous, 【제목키워드】 clinical, disease, Course, cohort of patient,