Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Institute of Digestive Disease, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2020 Oct;50(5):885-889. doi: 10.1016/j.semarthrit.2020.07.012. Epub 2020 Jul 24.
Patients with rheumatologic diseases might be more susceptible to COVID-19 and carry a poorer prognosis. The aim of this study is to examine the incidence and outcomes of all COVID-19 patients with rheumatologic conditions in Hong Kong.
This is a population-based retrospective study. All patients tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by PCR with a previous diagnosis of rheumatologic diseases were reviewed. The incidence of COVID-19 in patients with rheumatologic conditions was calculated and compared to the general population in Hong Kong. Descriptive data of those rheumatologic patients with COVID-19 and the clinical course of the index infection were presented.
Up till 27 May 2020, there were 1067 cases of COVID-19 diagnosed in Hong Kong which had a population of 7.5 million. Out of the 39,835 patients with underlying rheumatologic diseases, we identified 5 PCR confirmed COVID-19 cases. The estimated incidence of COVID-19 was 0.0126% patients with rheumatologic diseases, compared to 0.0142% in the general population. All 5 patients had inflammatory arthropathies. One patient was on hydroxychloroquine and sulphasalazine, and one was on methotrexate. None of the 3534 patients on b/tsDMARDs was infected. Four patients had leucopenia/lymphopenia and stool viral PCR was positive in 3 patients. All patients made uneventful recovery without complications or flare of underlying diseases.
We found no alarming signals of increased frequency or severity of COVID-19 in patients with rheumatologic diseases, although extrapolation of the results to other populations with different infection control strategies should be made with caution.
患有风湿性疾病的患者可能更容易感染 COVID-19 且预后较差。本研究旨在研究香港所有患有风湿性疾病的 COVID-19 患者的发病率和结局。
这是一项基于人群的回顾性研究。对所有经 PCR 检测 SARS-CoV-2 阳性且先前诊断为风湿性疾病的患者进行了回顾性分析。计算了风湿性疾病患者 COVID-19 的发病率，并与香港的一般人群进行了比较。介绍了患有风湿性疾病的 COVID-19 患者的描述性数据以及指数感染的临床过程。
截至 2020 年 5 月 27 日，香港共诊断出 1067 例 COVID-19 病例，人口为 750 万。在 39835 例患有基础风湿性疾病的患者中，我们发现 5 例经 PCR 确诊的 COVID-19 病例。风湿性疾病患者 COVID-19 的估计发病率为 0.0126%，而普通人群为 0.0142%。所有 5 例患者均患有炎症性关节炎。1 例患者正在服用羟氯喹和柳氮磺胺吡啶，1 例患者正在服用甲氨蝶呤。在 3534 例接受 b/tsDMARDs 治疗的患者中，无一人感染。4 例患者出现白细胞减少/淋巴细胞减少，3 例患者粪便病毒 PCR 阳性。所有患者均未出现并发症或原有疾病恶化，恢复顺利。
我们没有发现风湿性疾病患者 COVID-19 发病率或严重程度增加的令人担忧的信号，但应谨慎将结果外推到具有不同感染控制策略的其他人群。
