1
|
Bobircă A, Bobircă F, Ancuța I, Florescu A, Bojincă M, Muscă A, Florescu DN, Florescu LM, Sima RM, Florescu A, Mușetescu AE. COVID-19-A Trigger Factor for Severe Immune-Mediated Thrombocytopenia in Active Rheumatoid Arthritis. LIFE (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 12:life12010077. [PMID: 35054471 PMCID: PMC8780601 DOI: 10.3390/life12010077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2021] [Revised: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Thrombocytopenia is defined as a platelet count below 150,000/mm3 for adults. There is still controversy about whether individuals with platelet counts of 100,000/mm3 to 150,000/mm3 should be classified as having genuine thrombocytopenia or borderline thrombocytopenia. Thrombocytopenia is considered mild when the platelet count is between 70,000 and 150,000/mm3 and severe if the count is less than 20,000/mm3. Thrombocytopenia in rheumatoid arthritis is a rare complication, with an incidence estimated between 3 and 10%. The main etiological aspects include drug-induced thrombocytopenia and immune thrombocytopenic purpura. The most common hematological abnormalities in SARS-CoV-2 infection are lymphopenia and thrombocytopenia. It has been observed that the severity of thrombocytopenia correlates with the severity of the infection, being a poor prognosis indicator and a risk factor for mortality. COVID-19 can stimulate the immune system to destroy platelets by increasing the production of autoantibodies and immune complexes. Autoimmunity induced by viral infections can be related to molecular mimicry, cryptic antigen expression and also spreading of the epitope. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it is of great importance to include the SARS-CoV-2 infection in differential diagnoses, due to the increased variability in forms of presentation of this pathology. In this review, our aim is to present one of the most recently discovered causes of thrombocytopenia, which is the SARS-CoV-2 infection and the therapeutic challenges it poses in association with an autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anca Bobircă
- Department of Internal Medicine and Rheumatology, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania; (A.B.); (I.A.); (M.B.)
- Department of Internal Medicine and Rheumatology, Dr I. Cantacuzino Clinical Hospital, 011437 Bucharest, Romania; (A.F.); (A.M.)
| | - Florin Bobircă
- Department of General Surgery, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Dr I. Cantacuzino Clinical Hospital, 050474 Bucharest, Romania;
| | - Ioan Ancuța
- Department of Internal Medicine and Rheumatology, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania; (A.B.); (I.A.); (M.B.)
- Department of Internal Medicine and Rheumatology, Dr I. Cantacuzino Clinical Hospital, 011437 Bucharest, Romania; (A.F.); (A.M.)
| | - Anca Florescu
- Department of Internal Medicine and Rheumatology, Dr I. Cantacuzino Clinical Hospital, 011437 Bucharest, Romania; (A.F.); (A.M.)
| | - Mihai Bojincă
- Department of Internal Medicine and Rheumatology, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania; (A.B.); (I.A.); (M.B.)
- Department of Internal Medicine and Rheumatology, Dr I. Cantacuzino Clinical Hospital, 011437 Bucharest, Romania; (A.F.); (A.M.)
| | - Alice Muscă
- Department of Internal Medicine and Rheumatology, Dr I. Cantacuzino Clinical Hospital, 011437 Bucharest, Romania; (A.F.); (A.M.)
| | - Dan Nicolae Florescu
- Department of Gastroenterology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania;
| | - Lucian Mihai Florescu
- Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania;
| | - Romina Marina Sima
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, “Bucur” Maternity, “Saint John” Clinical Emergency Hospital, 077160 Bucharest, Romania;
| | - Alesandra Florescu
- Department of Rheumatology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania;
- Correspondence:
| | - Anca Emanuela Mușetescu
- Department of Rheumatology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania;
| |
Collapse
|