The Course and Outcomes of Covid-19 in Patients With Takayasu Arteritis: Case Series of 15 Patients From a Tertiary Single Center

Abstract

Recent studies have evaluated the severity of COVID-19 in patients with iRMD, and it has been reported that glucocorticoid use is associated with severe disease (3)(4)(5). Also, the risk factors for severe COVID-19 in patients with iRMD were identified as risk factors in the general population, such as male gender, older age, hypertension, and obesity (6). Strangfeld et al. (7) reported Aim: Aim: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has affected more than three hundred million individuals, and many risk factors for increased mortality and morbidity in COVID-19 have been defined. There are many studies evaluating the course of COVID-19 in inflammatory rheumatic diseases, however, fewer data are available for patients with Takayasu arteritis (TAK). This study assessed the characteristics and outcomes of TAK patients with COVID-19. Material and Methods:Material and Methods: A phone survey was conducted among TAK patients that are followed up in our clinic between February 2021 and March 2021. All patients were asked whether they were diagnosed with COVID-19 during the pandemic. The patients who had a history of COVID-19 were asked about the symptoms, hospitalization status, and treatment received for COVID-19. Information about their chronic diseases was obtained from the patient files.Results: Results: Among 118 TAK patients, 15 had COVID-19 during the first year of the pandemic; 13 were female, and the mean age was 42.5±12.04 years. Nine of the patients were taking prednisone therapy, 12 were taking conventionally synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs), 7 patients were taking biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs), and 5 patients were taking a combination of csDMARD and bDMARD therapy when they were diagnosed with COVID-19. Two patients were hospitalized, and one of them was admitted to the intensive care unit for 5 days. All the patients fully recovered, and there was no mortality related to COVID-19. Conclusion: Conclusion:Our data suggest that there is no increased risk for morbidity or mortality related to COVID-19 in TAK patients.