Infection News

Although the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases is comparable to the general population, increased systemic inflammation among these patients is linked to symptomatic COVID-19, according to researchers.

While there are few certainties when it comes to COVID-19, an indisputable body of data shows that individuals who acquire the virus produce a significant number of autoantibodies.

Before I say my piece on this, let me be clear that I am a strong vaccine advocate for all, including my patients with immune-mediated diseases. I am a champion against vaccine hesitancy and like to think my discussions are reflective of shared and informed decision-making.

Increased interleukin‐1Ra and IL‐8 serum levels, and other biomarker profiles, “clearly separate” COVID-19 from macrophage activation syndrome and secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, according to data published in Arthritis & Rheumatology.

Patients who are immunosuppressed will “likely” need regular COVID-19 vaccine boosters in the future, according to Jeffrey R. Curtis, MD, MS, MPH, chair of the American College of Rheumatology COVID-19 Vaccine Clinical Guidance Task Force.

Clinicians who treat vasculitides are accustomed to uncertainty. Vasculitis, in its varied forms, shares symptoms with an entire cross-section of unrelated conditions that can prompt frequent misdiagnoses and potentially fatal treatment decisions.

Only 54% of solid organ transplant recipients demonstrate evidence of antibody development after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, according to data in a pair of research letters published in JAMA.

There is no association between the use of NSAIDs and increased COVID-19 severity or mortality, according to data published in The Lancet Rheumatology.

The COVID-19 pandemic served to drive the creation and uptake of novel online osteoarthritis management programs, according to a speaker at the 2021 OARSI World Congress virtual meeting.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the rheumatology community to adopt a number of telehealth and digital approaches in patient care, according to a speaker at the 2021 OARSI World Congress virtual meeting.