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FRIDAY, Sept. 4, 2020 (HealthDay News)<\/p>\n
People with lupus<\/a> aren’t at increased risk of hospitalization from COVID-19<\/a> due to steroidal medications they take to reduce immune system activity, a new study finds.<\/p>\n And a related study found that people with inflammatory forms of arthritis<\/a> — such as rheumatoid arthritis<\/a> — aren’t more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19<\/a> than people without arthritis<\/a>.<\/p>\n Both studies were led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, in New York City.<\/p>\n The findings “should reassure most patients, especially those on immunosuppressant therapy, that they are at no greater risk of having to be admitted to hospital from COVID-19<\/a> than other lupus<\/a> or arthritis patients,” Dr. Ruth Fernandez-Ruiz, co-author of the studies, said in an NYU Langone news release.<\/p>\n “People with lupus<\/a> or inflammatory arthritis have the same risk factors for getting seriously ill from COVID-19<\/a> as people without these disorders,” said Fernandez-Ruiz, a postdoctoral fellow in rheumatology<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lupus<\/a> and conditions like rheumatoid arthritis<\/a>, psoriatic arthritis<\/a> and spondyloarthritis are autoimmune diseases in which the immune system mistakenly attacks a person’s own tissues. This causes inflammation in the joints, skin, kidneys and other parts of the body.<\/p>\n The researchers found that lupus<\/a> patients taking immune-suppressing medications — such as mycophenolate mofetil<\/a> (CellCept<\/a>) and azathioprine<\/a> (Imuran) — had no greater risk of hospitalization (15 out of 24) than lupus<\/a> patients not using the medications (nine of 17).<\/p>\n In addition, the COVID-19<\/a> hospitalization rate for people with inflammatory arthritis (26%) was similar to that of New York City residents overall (25%).<\/p>\n Another finding was that patients taking biologic drugs<\/a> for arthritis, such as adalimumab<\/a> (Humira<\/a>) and etanercept<\/a> (Enbrel<\/a>), or the antiviral hydroxychloroquine<\/a>, had no greater or lower risk of COVID-19<\/a> hospitalization than those not taking the drugs<\/a>.<\/p>\n But patients who took steroids called glucocorticoids, even in mild doses, had a 10 times higher risk of COVID-19 hospitalization than those who didn’t take steroids. Although the finding is statistically significant, the study’s small size may overestimate the actual risk, the researchers noted.<\/p>\n The studies were recently published online in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatology<\/a><\/i>.<\/p>\n — Robert Preidt<\/p>\n ![\"MedicalNews\"](\"https:\/\/images.medicinenet.com\/images\/HealthDay\/healthday.png\")
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