Systemic lupus erythematosus and COVID-19 during pregnancy

A critical review of COVID-19 course and vaccination in dermatology patients on immunomodulatory/biologic therapy: recommendations should not differ between non-pregnant and pregnant individuals

COVID-19 can have detrimental effects on immunosuppressed patients. Here, we evaluate the evidence regarding continuing immunomodulatory/biologic (IMBI) therapy in pregnant dermatology patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, we discuss the risks of COVID-19 vaccination in pregnant dermatology patients on IMBI therapy. As indicated in this review, regarding continuing IMBI therapy in pregnant dermatology patients during the pandemic, there is no compelling reason for treating them differently than non-pregnant. The body of evidence indicates that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are safe during pregnancy. Studies on rheumatology patients, a group that overlaps significantly with the dermatology group, provided essential findings. IMBI in a non-pregnant rheumatology patient was not associated with COVID-19 mortality (except for rituximab), and vaccination of the rheumatology patient during pregnancy improved the obstetric outcomes compared to the unvaccinated patient. Based on this data, it can be stated that after weighing the benefit-risk profile of the available COVID-19 vaccines, the recommendation for the pregnant dermatology patient speaks in favor of the COVID-19 vaccination. COVID-19 vaccine recommendations in pregnant dermatology patients on IMBI should not differ from those for their non-pregnant counterparts.

Immunology of pregnancy and reproductive health in autoimmune rheumatic diseases. Update from the 11th International Conference on Reproduction, Pregnancy and Rheumatic Diseases

Autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARD) can affect women and men during fertile age, therefore reproductive health is a priority issue in rheumatology. Many topics need to be considered during preconception counselling: fertility, the impact of disease-related factors on pregnancy outcomes, the influence of pregnancy on disease activity, the compatibility of medications with pregnancy and breastfeeding. Risk stratification and individualized treatment approach elaborated by a multidisciplinary team minimize the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes (APO). Research has been focused on identifying biomarkers that can be predictive of APO. Specifically, preeclampsia and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy tend to develop more frequently in women with ARD. Placental insufficiency can lead to intrauterine growth restriction and small-for-gestational age newborns. Such APO have been shown to be associated with maternal disease activity in different ARD. Therefore, a key message to be addressed to the woman wishing for a pregnancy and to her family is that treatment with compatible drugs is the best way to ensure maternal and fetal wellbeing. An increasing number of medications have entered the management of ARD, but data about their use in pregnancy and lactation are scarce. More information is needed for most biologic drugs and their biosimilars, and for the so-called small molecules, while there is sufficient evidence to recommend the use of TNF inhibitors if needed for keeping maternal disease under control. Other issues related to the reproductive journey have emerged as "unmet needs", such as sexual dysfunction, contraception, medically assisted reproduction techniques, long-term outcome of children, and they will be addressed in this review paper. Collaborative research has been instrumental to reach current knowledge and the future will bring novel insights thanks to pregnancy registries and prospective studies that have been established in several Countries and to their joint efforts in merging data.

A novel case of lupus nephritis and mixed connective tissue disorder in a COVID-19 patient

Introduction

Mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) is a rare autoimmune condition characterized by Scleroderma, Polymyositis, and Systemic Lupus Erythematous (SLE). Though a possible relationship between COVID-19 and autoimmune diseases has been recently reported, its pathophysiological mechanism behind flares in Lupus Nephritis (LN), a complication of SLE, remains unknown.

Case presentation

A 22-year-old COVID-19 positive female presented with anemia, bilateral pitting edema, periorbital swelling, and posterior cervical lymphadenitis. Further inspection revealed lower abdominal striae, hepatosplenomegaly, and hyperpigmented skin nodules. Complete blood counts showed elevated inflammatory markers and excessively high protein creatinine ratio. Antinuclear antibody titers were elevated (anti-smith and U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein) and Rheumatoid Factor was positive. She was diagnosed with MCTD associated with a flare of LN. To control her lupus flare, a lower dose of steroids was initially administered, in addition to oral hydroxychloroquine and intravenous cyclophosphamide. Her condition steadily improved and was discharged on oral steroid maintenance medication.

Discussion

We present a rare phenomenon of newly diagnosed LN, a complication of SLE, with MCTD in a PCR-confirmed COVID-19 patient. The diagnostic conundrum and treatment hurdles should be carefully addressed when patients present with lupus and COVID-19 pneumonia, with further exploration of the immuno-pathophysiology of COVID-19 infection in multi-systemic organ dysfunction in autoimmune disorders.

Conclusion

In COVID-19 patients with LN and acute renal injury, it is critical to promptly and cautiously treat symptomatic flares associated with autoimmune disorders such as SLE and MCTD that may have gone unnoticed to prevent morbidity from an additional respiratory infection.

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SLE disease has been associated with COVID-19. However, there is a lack of data on LN in conjunction with MCTD in COVID-19 positive patients.

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A possible relationship between Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and autoimmune disease has been documented in many case reports.

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Because of the overlapping clinical manifestations and laboratory findings between lupus and COVID-19 pneumonia, the diagnostic problems and treatment hurdles should be carefully addressed.

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In COVID-19 patients with LN flare and acute renal injury, it is critical to resolve any reversible causes of the kidney injury and manage the COVID-19 before treating the LN.

SARS-Cov2 acute and post-active infection in the context of autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases

The clinical and immunological spectrum of acute and post-active COVID-19 syndrome overlaps with criteria used to characterize autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Indeed, following SARS-Cov2 infection, the innate immune response is altered with an initial delayed production of interferon type I (IFN-I), while the NF-kappa B and inflammasome pathways are activated. In lung and digestive tissues, an alternative and extrafollicular immune response against SARS-Cov2 takes place with, consequently, an altered humoral and memory T cell response leading to breakdown of tolerance with the emergence of autoantibodies. However, the risk of developing severe COVID-19 among SLE and RA patients did not exceed the general population except in those having pre-existing neutralizing autoantibodies against IFN-I. Treatment discontinuation rather than COVID-19 infection or vaccination increases the risk of developing flares. Last but not least, a limited number of case reports of individuals having developed SLE or RA following COVID-19 infection/vaccination have been reported. Altogether, the SARS-Cov2 pandemic represents an unique opportunity to investigate the dangerous interplay between the immune response against infectious agents and autoimmunity, and to better understand the triggering role of infection as a risk factor in autoimmune and chronic inflammatory disease development.

COVID-19 from a rheumatology perspective: bibliometric and altmetric analysis

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak turned out the greatest pandemic for decades. It challenged enormously the global health system, forcing it to adjust to the new realities. We aimed to analyze articles covering COVID-19 papers in the rheumatological field and outline emerging topics raising within this frame. We applied the bibliometric database Scopus for our literature search and conducted it on the 5th of June using the following keywords: "rheumatic" OR "rheumatology" OR "rheumatoid arthritis" OR "systemic lupus erythematosus" OR "myositis" OR "systemic sclerosis" OR "vasculitis" OR "arthritis" OR "ankylosing spondylitis" AND "COVID-19". We analyzed all selected articles according to various aspects: type of document, authorship, journal, citations score, rheumatology field, country of origin, language, and keywords. With the help of the software tool VOSviewer version 1.6.15, we have built the visualizing network of authors and keywords co-occurrence. The measurement of the social impact of articles was made using Altmetric data. This study included 1430 retrieved articles with open access mostly. The top five journals in this field were Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (n = 65), Rheumatology International (n = 51), Clinical Rheumatology (n = 50), Lancet Rheumatology (n = 50), and Frontiers In Immunology (n = 33). Most studies originate from countries with a high incidence of COVID-19 among the general population (the USA-387; Italy-268; UK-184; France-114; Germany-110; India-98 and Spain-96, China-94, Canada-73 Turkey-66). Original Articles (42.1%) were the most common articles' type, following by Letters (24.4%), Reviews (21.7%), Notes (6%), Editorials (4.8%), Erratum (1%). According to the citations scores, articles dedicated to the clinical course of COVID-19 in patients with rheumatic diseases were of the highest importance for the scientific rheumatologic community. Rheumatoid arthritis (n = 527), systemic lupus erythematosus (n = 393), vasculitis (n = 267), myositis (n = 71), systemic sclerosis (n = 68), and psoriatic arthritis (n = 68) were the most widely discussed rheumatic diseases in the view of COVID-19. The analysis of Altmetric and citations scores revealed a moderate correlation between them. This article provides a comprehensive bibliometric and altmetric analysis of COVID-19 related articles in the rheumatology field and summarizes data about features of rheumatology service in the time of the pandemic.

The Effect of COVID-19 Illness on Pregnant Patients With Rheumatic Disease: Early Reassuring Data

As of September 20, 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported 228,206,384 cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), with over 4.5 million deaths worldwide.¹ International responses by healthcare providers (HCPs), medical and pharmacologic researchers, and public health workers identified risk factors for serious illness and developed novel therapies and vaccines in real time, even as new variants emerge.

Incidence of COVID-19 Hospitalisation in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Nationwide Cohort Study from Denmark

Background: Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have an increased risk of infections due to impaired immune functions, disease activity, and treatment. This study investigated the impact of having SLE on the incidence of hospitalisation with COVID-19 infection. Methods: This was a nationwide cohort study from Denmark between 1 March 2020 to 2 February 2021, based on the linkage of several nationwide registers. The adjusted incidence of COVID-19 hospitalisation was estimated for patients with SLE compared with the general population in Cox-regression models. Among SLE patients, the hazard ratio (HR) for hospitalisation was analysed as nested case-control study. Results: Sixteen of the 2533 SLE patients were hospitalised with COVID-19 infection. The age-sex adjusted rate per 1000 person years was 6.16 (95% CI 3.76–10.08) in SLE patients, and the corresponding hazard ratio was 2.54 (95% CI 1.55–4.16) compared with the matched general population group after adjustment for comorbidities. Among SLE patients, hydroxychloroquine treatment was associated with a HR for hospitalisation of 0.61 (95% CI 0.19–1.88), and 1.06 (95% CI 0.3–3.72) for glucocorticoid treatment. Conclusion: Patients with SLE were at increased risk of hospitalisation with COVID-19.