Breakthrough Infection

Patients with confirmed Ebola virus disease were around half as likely to die if they were vaccinated against the virus than if they were not, results from a study showed.

Newborns with HIV who receive very early ART can achieve sustained virological suppression, a study found. Researchers said the results provide a jumping-off point to identify infants who may later achieve treatment-free remission.

Continued administration of COVID-19 booster vaccine among patients with lymphoma appeared associated with lower COVID-19 breakthrough infection rates, according to data published in The Lancet.

A study of nearly 34,000 patients who received a COVID-19 vaccine but experienced a breakthrough infection showed that they were still at risk for developing long COVID symptoms.

Diagnoses of psychiatric disorders were associated with increased incidence of COVID-19 breakthrough infection in VA patients, with the strongest associations found in older patients, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open.

A recent analysis showed the global burden of hip osteoarthritis rose between 1990 and 2019, with incidence and disability-adjusted life years increasing in most countries. A report on the data was the top story in rheumatology last week.

WHO strongly recommended baricitinib plus corticosteroids for the treatment of severe or critical COVID-19. The recommendation is part of an update to WHO’s Guideline on Drugs for COVID-19. It was the top story in rheumatology last week.

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.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis, gout, polydermatomyositis, vasculitis and those with multiple rheumatic diseases were at greatest risk for breakthrough COVID-19 infection, despite full or partial vaccination vs. those without rheumatic disease.

Among fully vaccinated individuals with rheumatic diseases, breakthrough COVID-19 infections occurred most commonly in patients treated with B cell depleting agents or mycophenolate, according to data presented at ACR Convergence 2021.