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ObjectivesThe relationship between infections or vaccine antigens and exacerbations or new onset of immune-mediated diseases (IMDs) has long been known. In this observational study, conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, we evaluated the onset of clinical and laboratory immune manifestations related to COVID-19 or SARS-CoV-2 vaccination.MethodsFour groups of patients were evaluated: A) 584 COVID-19 inpatients hospitalized from March 2020 to June 2020 and from November 2020 to May 2021; B) 135 outpatients with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, assessed within 6 months of recovery; C) outpatients with IMDs in remission and flared after SARS-COV-2 infection; D) outpatients with symptoms of probable immune-mediated origin after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination.ResultsIn cohort A we observed n. 28 (4.8%) arthralgia/myalgia, n. 2 (0.3%) arthritis, n. 3 (0.5%) pericarditis, n. 1 (0.2%) myocarditis, n. 11 (1.9%) thrombocytopenia or pancytopenia, and in the follow up cohort B we identified 9 (6.7%) cases of newly diagnosed IMDs after the recovery from COVID-19. In all cases, serological alterations were not observed.In cohort C we observed n.5 flares of pre-existing IMD after SARS-COV2 infection, and in the cohort D n. 13 IMD temporally close with SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in 8 healthy subjects (with clinical classifiable IMD-like presentation) and in 5 patients affected by an anamnestic IMD. Also in these latter cases, except in 2 healthy subjects, there were not found serological alterations specific of a classifiable IMD.ConclusionsThis study suggests that the interplay between SARS-CoV-2 and the host may induce complex immune-mediated reactions, probably induced by the anti-spike antibodies, in healthy people and IMD patients without specific serological autoimmunity. Moreover, our data suggest that the anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies generated by the vaccination may cause in healthy subjects’ clinical manifestations similar to well-definite IMDs. These findings support the hypothesis that SARS-Cov2 infection in COVID-19 induce an innate and adaptive immune response that may be both responsible of the symptoms correlated with the occurrence of the IMDs described in our study. And, in this context, the IMDs observed in healthy people in close temporal correlation with the vaccination suggest that the anti-Spike antibodies may play a key role in the induction of an abnormal and deregulated immune response.

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Background:Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is the most frequent extra-intestinal manifestation in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), since it may occur in up to 25% of patients. The early referral to a Rheumatology Unit may lead to proper treatment and better outcomes for patients with suspect SpA. Recently, we have developed and preliminarily validated a self-administered screening questionnaire, called DETection of Arthritis in Inflammatory boweL diseases (DETAIL)1.Objectives:To validate the DETAIL questionnaire in a multicenter cohort of IBD patients enrolled at ten Gastroenterology and Rheumatology Units in Italy.Methods:The DETAIL instrument is a 6-item questionnaire developed through a Delphi method1. From October 2018 to March 2019, consecutive adult patients with IBD, Crohn’s disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC), filled out independently the DETAIL in the outpatient waiting room. Thereafter, within 2 weeks a blinded rheumatologist assessed all the patients, irrespectively of the DETAIL results, and classified them to be affected or not by SpA according to ASAS criteria. The performance of the DETAIL was evaluated trough Bayesian analysis, defining for each item of the questionnaire the sensitivity, specificity, positive (LR+) and negative (LR-) likelihood ratios.Results:Overall, 418 IBD patients filled out the DETAIL questionnaire. Upon rheumatological evaluation, 102 (24.4%) patients received a diagnosis of SpA. Of the six questions, the best performances were found in item 6 (LR+ 3.77), reporting inflammatory back pain at night, and in item 3 (LR+ 3.31), exploring Achilles enthesitis. The presence of back pain lasting more than three months (LR+ 2.91), of back pain with inflammatory features (LR+ 2.55) and a history of dactylitis (LR+ 2.55), showed also a fairly good performance, whereas a history of peripheral synovitis was slightly worse (LR+ 2.16). The combination of at least three items answered affirmatively yielded a post-test probability of SpA of 75% or more. The presence of alternative diagnoses, such as osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia, represented a minor confounder.Conclusion:The DETAIL questionnaire is the first screening tool for the early detection of SpA/IBD that has been validated by a multicenter study group.References:[1]Di Carlo M, Luchetti MM, Benfaremo D, Di Donato E, Mosca P, Maltoni S, Benedetti A, Gabrielli A, Grassi W, Salaffi F. The DETection of Arthritis in Inflammatory boweL diseases (DETAIL) questionnaire: development and preliminary testing of a new tool to screen patients with inflammatory bowel disease for the presence of spondyloarthritis. Clin Rheumatol. 2018 Apr;37(4):1037-1044.Acknowledgments:We are grateful to all the members of the GRADES-IBD study group for their outstanding help in the enrollment of patients.We also would like to acknowledge the “Società Italiana di Gastro-Reumatologia” (SIGR) for its help and assistance in the constitution of the multidisciplinary network.Disclosure of Interests:None declared