Lupus & antiphospholipid syndrome
Does the use of corticosteroids and immunosuppressants increase the risk of COVID-19 infection among people with systemic lupus erythematosus?
Authors' conclusion
It is reassuring that there was not strong evidence of an increased risk of infection among those taking prednisone or other immunosuppressants. However, given the range of our CIs, moderate effects of these medications on COVID-19 risk cannot be completely ruled out.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with SLE, single-centre cohort seen quarterly, March 2020 to August 202224,614 person-months
- Participants
- 1,052 patients
- Exposure
- Prednisone and immunosuppressants vs no such treatment
- Outcome
- Incidence of COVID-19 infection per person-month
Methodological detailssingle-centre, quarterly visits, logistic regression
- Single-centre
- Quarterly visits
- Logistic regression
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Risk of COVID-19 infection per person-month
P = 0.87 for difference
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | Rate ratio (95% CI) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| COVID-19 risk with belimumab (adjusted)Belimumabvs No belimumabAfter adjustment for potential confounders | 1.4 (0.88–2.24) | P = 0.16 | |
| 0.512Rate ratio (log scale) |
COVID-19 risk with mycophenolate, methotrexate or azathioprine
- No evidence of an increased risk
Parts of this Brief are withheld: the automatic checks could not confirm them against the abstract.
Original publication
Does the use of corticosteroids and immunosuppressants increase the risk of COVID-19 infection among people with systemic lupus erythematosus? Lupus Sci Med. Published 6 October 2023. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →