Key clinical point: Despite improvements in COVID-19 clinical outcomes in the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron era, patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remain at higher risk for COVID-19-associated adverse outcomes compared with the general population, suggesting continued need to follow all prophylactic measures, including receiving vaccinations and antivirals against SARS-CoV-2.
Major finding: Patients with RA vs general population who contracted COVID-19 continue to be at a higher risk for COVID-19-associated hospitalization (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.02; 95% CI 1.79-2.27) and death (aOR 1.73; 95% CI 1.36-2.20) despite better vaccination coverage (88.89% vs 84.07%) and more frequent use of SARS-CoV-2-directed oral antivirals (0.67% vs 0.23%) and monoclonal antibodies (0.10% vs 0.02%).
Study details: This retrospective, population-based study included 34,182 patients with RA matched with 170,910 comparators from the general population.
Disclosures: This study did not receive any specific funding. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Bournia VK et al. Outcomes of COVID-19 Omicron variant in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A nationwide Greek cohort study. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2023 (Jul 19). doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/kead354