COVID-19 COURSE AND OUTCOME IN PATIENTS WITH INFLAMMATORY RHEUMATIC DISEASES WHO ARE ON BIOLOGICAL OR TARGETED SYNTHETIC DISEASE-MODIFYING ANTIRHEUMATIC DRUGS – RESULTS FROM A SINGLE RHEUMATOLOGY CENTRE

The aim of this study was to investigate the course and outcome of COVID in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRD) who are on biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) or targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (tsDMARDs). In this study, we used the data of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) who had been treated at the Department of Rheumatology, Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine of the Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital in Zagreb (Croatia) and in whose case the SARS-CoV-2 infection was proven in the period from February 2020 until the end of July 2021. In order to analyse this data, we have used the methods of descriptive statistics. Out of a total of 28 patients, 6 had a severe or critical case of COVID-19, but only one subject was hospitalized. All 6 patients were treated with bDMARDs before the onset of infection. Most of them (4/6) had moderate to high disease activity of IRD, as well as multiple comorbidities. No deaths were recorded in this cohort of patients. The results of this study suggest that the course of COVID-19 is associated with the disease activity of IRD and accompanying comorbidities, whereas the use of specific biological drugs might be associated with a more favourable outcome of the infection. Therefore, a better follow-up process and management of disease activity in patients with IRD should be implemented during the period of this pandemic, as well as the modification of specific therapy.