Multiple Sclerosis Research Center, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Iran J Med Sci. 2021 Nov;46(6):411-419. doi: 10.30476/IJMS.2021.88717.1946.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recently emerging disease caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Notably, the safety of immunosuppressive medications is a major concern during an infectious disease pandemic. Rituximab (RTX), as a monoclonal antibody against CD20 molecule, is widely used for the treatment of various diseases, mostly autoimmune diseases and some malignancies. Previous studies indicated that RTX, as an immunosuppressive medication, may be associated with the increased risk of infections. Moreover, given the wide use of RTX, a necessity of determining the different aspects of RTX use in the COVID-19 era is strongly felt. We reviewed current studies on the clinical courses of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. It appears that the use of RTX does not increase morbidity and mortality in most patients. However, underlying diseases and other concomitant medications may play a role in the disease course, while the concerns of vaccine efficacy in patients receiving RTX still need to be addressed. Therefore, more controlled studies are needed for a better conclusion.
新型冠状病毒病（COVID-19）是由严重急性呼吸系统综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）引起的一种新出现的疾病。值得注意的是，在传染病大流行期间，免疫抑制药物的安全性是一个主要关注点。利妥昔单抗（RTX）是一种针对 CD20 分子的单克隆抗体，广泛用于治疗各种疾病，主要是自身免疫性疾病和一些恶性肿瘤。先前的研究表明，RTX 作为一种免疫抑制药物，可能与感染风险增加有关。此外，鉴于 RTX 的广泛应用，强烈感受到需要确定 COVID-19 时代 RTX 使用的不同方面。我们回顾了目前关于 SARS-CoV-2 感染患者临床病程的研究。似乎在大多数患者中，RTX 的使用并未增加发病率和死亡率。然而，潜在疾病和其他伴随药物可能在疾病过程中发挥作用，而接受 RTX 治疗的患者对疫苗疗效的担忧仍需解决。因此，需要进行更多的对照研究以得出更好的结论。
