PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Javier Bachiller-Corral AU - Alina Boteanu AU - Maria Jesus Garcia-Villanueva AU - Carlos de la Puente AU - Marcelino Revenga AU - M. Consuelo Diaz-Miguel AU - Ana Rodriguez-Garcia AU - Jose Luis Morell-Hita AU - Marta Valero AU - Carmen Larena AU - Maria Blazquez-Cañamero AU - Carlos A. Guillen-Astete AU - Sandra Garrote AU - Cristina Sobrino AU - Carmen Medina-Quiñones AU - Mónica Vazquez-Diaz TI - Risk of severe coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases. AID - 10.3899/jrheum.200755 DP - 2021 Mar 15 TA - The Journal of Rheumatology PG - jrheum.200755 4099 - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2021/03/10/jrheum.200755.short 4100 - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2021/03/10/jrheum.200755.full AB - Objective To describe the cohort of patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRD) hospitalized due to SARS-CoV-2 infection in our hospital and to determine the increased risk of severe coronavirus disease regarding no IRD patients. Methods Retrospective single-center observational study of patients with IRD actively monitored in the Department of Rheumatology who were hospitalized due to COVID- 19. Results 41 (1,8%) out of 2,315 patients admitted due to severe SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia suffered from an IRD. The admission Odds ratio (OR) for IRD patients was 1.87 against the general population, and it was higher in patients with Sjögren’s syndrome, vasculitis and systemic lupus erythematosus. Twenty-seven patients were receiving treatment for IRD with corticosteroids, 23 with conventional DMARDs, 12 with biologics (7 rituximab, 4 anti-TNF and 1 abatacept) and 1 with JAK inhibitors. Ten deaths were registered among patients with IRD. A higher hospitalization rate and a higher number of deaths were observed in patients treated with rituximab (OR=12.8) but not in patients treated with anti-TNF (OR=0.9). Conclusion Patients with IRD, especially autoimmune diseases and patients treated with rituximab, may be at higher risk of severe pneumonia due to SARS-Cov 2, compared to the general population. More studies are needed to analyze this association further in order to help managing these patients during the pandemic.