COVID-19 in pemphigus vulgaris patients with previous rituximab therapy: A tele-medicine experience.

COVID-19 in pemphigus vulgaris patients with previous rituximab therapy: A tele-medicine experience. J Dermatolog Treat. 2020 Jun 27;:1-7 Authors: Shahidi-Dadras M, Abdollahimajd F, Ohadi L, Tabary M, Araghi F, Mozafari N, Toosi P, Dadkhahfar S Abstract Nowadays, rituximab, an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, has revolutionized the treatment of moderate to severe pemphigus from both safety and efficacy perspectives. We aimed to perform a tele-dermatology study to evaluate the development of COVID-19 or its associated symptoms in pemphigus vulgaris (PV) patients who received rituximab treatment within five years from the initiation of pandemic. This cross-sectional study was performed on May 2020 with tele-medicine follow-up method in our center. Patients with PV who received rituximab treatment between 2014 and 2020 in our hospital were enrolled. Presence of COVID-19 symptoms or confirmed history of COVID-19 infection was recorded. We evaluated the records of 167 patients who received rituximab in our hospital. Out of Among these patients, 45 (26.9%) received rituximab within a year from the current pandemic. We identified 5 (4 female) cases of COVID-19 confirmed with computerized tomography (CT) scan with a mean age of 41.8 ± 9.6, and none of them have received rituximab within a year from the current pandemic. Among these 5 patients, 4 cases presented with COVID-19 symptoms. One case was asymptomatic and she was diagnosed accide...
Source: Journal of Dermatological Treatment - Category: Dermatology Tags: J Dermatolog Treat Source Type: research