Özgen Z, Aksoy H, Akın Çakıcı Ö, Koku Aksu AE, Erdem O, Kara Polat A, Gürel MS. COVID-19 Severity and SARS-Cov-2 Vaccine Safety in Pemphigus Patients.
Dermatol Ther 2022;
35:e15417. [PMID:
35243732 PMCID:
PMC9111561 DOI:
10.1111/dth.15417]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2021] [Revised: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
There are safety concerns in the treatment of pemphigus patients with immunosuppressants, particularly Rituximab (RTX), in times of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the beginning, the reports were more pessimistic. However, few reports have recently pointed to manageable courses in this patient group. Therefore, we investigated the disease characteristics and demographic features of pemphigus patients in the period of the COVID-19 pandemic.
OBJECTIVE
We aimed to investigate the impact of immunosuppressants on the course of COVID-19 in pemphigus patients. Also, we tried to find out the rate of flares due to COVID-19 and SARS-Cov-2 vaccines.
METHOD
This multicenter study included 247 patients with pemphigus from three tertiary dermatology clinics with the specialized outpatient clinic for autoimmune blistering diseases. Patients were asked standardized questions in person or via telephone calls. Also, demographic data were collected from patients' files.
RESULTS
244 of 247 patients took the survey between August and September 2021. The data of 3 patients were obtained from the National Health System. We collected the data of all pemphigus patients who visited the clinics at least once in the past three years. Among 51 patients having COVID-19, 40 had a non-serious disease, whereas 11 required hospitalization. One patient died because of COVID-19 infection.
LIMITATION
The number of patients is limited, and data depends mainly on patients' statements.
CONCLUSION
RTX treatment does not require additional safety cautions than other immunosuppressives. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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