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- tumour necrosis factor inhibitors
- spondylitis, ankylosing
- arthritis, infectious
- biological therapy
- antirheumatic agents
The novel coronavirus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2), responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)) outbreak is a major public health concern worldwide, while it is spreading globally.
It is not yet known whether immunomodulatory treatments used in patients with autoimmune and rheumatic diseases are associated with better or poorer outcomes over the course of COVID-19.
We report the case of a recovery from COVID-19 in a 60-year-old immunocompromised man, treated with tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) inhibitor (the soluble TNF receptor: etanercept 50 mg, subcutaneous, weekly) and methotrexate (20 mg subcutaneous, weekly), for spondyloarthritis.
One week after the categorisation of eastern France as a new cluster of COVID-19 and 2 days after the weekly subcutaneous injection of 50 mg etanercept, the patient developed fever (up to 39°C), cough, myalgias and diarrhoeas. Five days after the onset of symptoms, the patient was referred to the local emergency department where the SARS-CoV2 was detected by real-time reverse transcription (RT)-PCR on a nasopharyngeal swab. There was no sign of respiratory …
Footnotes
Handling editor Josef S Smolen
Contributors All authors were involved in drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content, and all authors approved the final version to be published. PMD and ES wrote the manuscript. PMD, SG, AM, LS and LM revised it critically and PMD, LS and LM supervised the project.
Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Competing interests None declared.
Patient and public involvement Patients and/or the public were not involved in the design, or conduct, or reporting, or dissemination plans of this research.
Patient consent for publication Obtained.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.