Infection News

Approximately 83% to 88% of Canadian patients with immune-mediated inflammatory disease have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, compared with 78% of the general population, according to data published in The Journal of Rheumatology.

As we now enter the third year of COVID-19 and reflect, we should begin by asking ourselves: Just how good are we doing in critically appraising and utilizing the emerging science of this new field?

If colchicine and its prospects as a COVID-19 treatment entered 2021 with a bang, then it decidedly exited the year with a whimper.

Although vaccines reduce the overall risk for COVID-19 regardless of immune status, patients with immune dysfunction are at a “substantial risk” for breakthrough infection versus those without, according to data.

Most pediatric patients with multisystem inflammatory syndrome also had evidence of myocardial injury, but functional recovery was quick with no adverse coronary outcomes, researchers reported.

The WHO has issued a “strong recommendation” for baricitinib, in combination with corticosteroids, in the treatment of patients with severe or critical COVID-19.

Just 0.7% of fully vaccinated patients with inflammatory rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease experience a breakthrough COVID-19 infection, while only 4.4% demonstrate disease flare reactions, according to data.

Colchicine fails to significantly reduce mechanical ventilation or 28-day mortality in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, compared with usual care, according to data published in JAMA Network Open.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis, but not psoriatic arthritis or ulcerative colitis, are at a greater risk for severe or critical COVID-19 versus those with COVID-19 alone, according to data published in The Journal of Rheumatology.

DMARD interruptions in patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases increased more than 80% between December 2020 and May 2021, leading to higher rates of self-reported flares, according to data published in Arthritis Care & Research.