JAAD: Immunosuppressive drugs do not increase the risk of COVID19 infection.

September 16, 2020 /--- A recent study published by dermatology researchers at Henry Ford Health System showed that patients receiving immunosuppressive treatment for common skin and rheumatoid diseases such as psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis did not have an increased risk of COVID-19 and should continue taking their medication as prescribed.
, a dermatologist and lead author of the study, said that although their immune systems were weak, most patients had no higher risk of COVID-19 than the general population.
he said the findings should reassure both patients and doctors.
(Photo: www.pixabay.com) The study is one of the first to analyze the relationship between immunosuppressive drugs for skin diseases and the risk and outcome of COVID-19 infection.
until recently, little was known about the use of these drugs in pandemics to treat patients and whether they could increase the risk of contracting COVID-19 or related complications due to weakened immune systems.
Veenstra and colleagues conducted a retrospective analysis of 213 patients who took immunosuppressants for immuno-mediated inflammatory diseases.
patients were tested for COVID-19 between 1 February and 18 April and had been treated with immunosuppressive drugs for at least one month prior to receiving COVID-19 testing.
the main findings of their analysis: 36 percent of the 213 patients tested positive for COVID-19, and were more likely to be hospitalized or use a ventilator than the general population.
there is no evidence that any single immunosuppressive drug increases a patient's chances of testing positive or developing a serious disease.
race is a predictive indicator of COVID-19 status, and African-Americans are more likely to test positive.
patients who use TNF alpha inhibitors are significantly less likely to be hospitalized.
TNF alpha inhibitors are part of a class of immunosuppressive biologics used to suppress inflammation.
, Dr Veenstra said, patients treated with multiple drugs were more likely to be hospitalized than those treated with single drugs.
Veenstra said more research was needed to fully explain the findings, but it could suggest that multiple drugs could further suppress a patient's immune system, making them more susceptible to COVID-19 infection.
, immunosuppressed patients are prone to respiratory infections, such as the common cold, which can cause symptoms such as coughing, runny nose and sore throat.
, however, the risk of COVID-19 in the patient population has not been reported so far.
(bioon.com) Source: Study finds finds certain immunosuppressing drugs do not increase risk for COVID-19 Original source: Jesse Veenstra et al, Antecedent Immunosuppressive Therapy for Immune-MediatedEdEdIngay Diseases in the Setting of a COVID-19 Outbreak, Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.jaad.2020.07.089.