The course and outcomes of COVID-19 in patients with Takayasu arteritis: Case series of 15 patients from a tertiary single center

INTRODUCTION: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected more than three hundred million individuals, and many risk factors for increased mortality and morbidity in COVID-19 have been defined. There are many studies evaluating the course of COVID-19 in inflammatory rheumatic diseases, however, fewer data are available for patients with Takayasu arteritis (TAK). This study assessed the characteristics and outcomes of TAK patients with COVID-19.
METHODS: A phone survey was conducted among TAK patients that are followed up in our clinic between February 2021 and March 2021. All patients were asked whether they were diagnosed as COVID-19 during the pandemic. The patients who had a history of COVID-19 disease were asked about the symptoms, hospitalization status, and treatment received for COVID-19. Information about their chronic diseases was obtained from the patient files.
RESULTS: Among 118 TAK patients, 15 had COVID-19 during the first year of the pandemic; 13 were female, and the mean age was 42,5 ± 12,04 years. Nine of the patients were taking prednisone therapy, 12 were taking conventionally synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs), 7 patients were taking biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs), and 5 patients were taking a combination of csDMARD and bDMARD therapy when they were diagnosed with COVID-19. Two patients were hospitalized, and one of them was admitted to the intensive care unit for 5 days. All of the patients fully recovered, and there was no mortality related to COVID-19.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that there is no increased risk for morbidity or mortality related to COVID-19 in TAK patients.