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?:abstract
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Six months following the beginning of Covid-19 pandemic in China, data on the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection among patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases are now available However, the rapid spread of the pandemic has not allowed proper design of prospective studies, thus evidence came mostly from case series and observational studies The early enthusiasm on hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) antiviral properties should not suggest that patients who are longterm treated with antimalarials, such as patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), are protected against SARS-CoV-2 infection Indeed, a French report on 17 HCQ-treated SLE patients dampened the enthusiasm 1 A recent report from Covid-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance has described 80 SLE patients with Covid-19, mostly females under 65 years of age, 64% of whom were already taking HCQ before the infection: the rate of hospitalisation and the need for intensive care did not differ between patients who were and those who were not taking HCQ 2 A study group from Northern Italy - the Italian epicentre of the pandemic - reported an incidence of 2 5% of Covid-19 (higher compared to the general population of the same region) in 165 patients with SLE 3 Patients with SLE are possibly at risk of developing symptomatic or severe Covid-19, not only because of their disease or treatment but as a consequence of associated comorbidities known to worsen the outcome of SARS-COv-2 infection 4 5 What do we know so far? SLE patients should not withdraw their medication Before drawing any other conclusion, large registry data are needed to clarify the incidence and the outcome of Covid-19 in patients with SLE
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