Autoimmunity in paediatric patients from a region of Colombia, after a SARS-CoV2 peak

Abstract

Introduction

With the onset of the 2019 coronavirus pandemic, there was an increase in the number of reported cases of autoimmune manifestations in the midst of the disease and new cases of autoimmunity after infection.

Objective

To correlate the rate of positive tests of SARS-CoV-2 with the rate of new diagnoses of autoimmune disease in paediatric patients of the department of Huila (Colombia), between March 2020 and September 2021.

Methods

The socio-demographic characterization of the subjects diagnosed with autoimmune disease and of the cases of SARS-CoV-2 was performed; an analysis of the monthly trend of events was performed and a correlation model was applied between the rate of SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis and the rate of autoimmune diseases during the study period.

Results

94 cases of autoimmune disease were diagnosed, with an average age of 8.3 years, most were girls and belonged to the urban area and the subsidized regimen, and immune thrombocytopenic purpura was the most common diagnosis. In addition, 4303 cases of SARS-CoV-2 were detected, mostly adolescents, from urban areas and the contributory system. Finally, it was evidenced that the highest rate of autoimmune disease was reported just after the highest peak of SARS-CoV-2.

Conclusions

This study did not show a statistical correlation between the rate of SARS-CoV-2 and the rate of diagnoses of autoimmune disease; however, it showed an enormous peak of autoimmunity after the highest peak of infection in paediatric patients of the department during the first eighteen months of the pandemic.