RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 COVID-19 and immunosuppression: a review of current clinical experiences and implications for ophthalmology patients taking immunosuppressive drugs
JF British Journal of Ophthalmology
JO Br J Ophthalmol
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.
SP 306
OP 310
DO 10.1136/bjophthalmol-2020-316586
VO 105
IS 3
A1 Zheng Xian Thng
A1 Marc D De Smet
A1 Cecilia S Lee
A1 Vishali Gupta
A1 Justine R Smith
A1 Peter J McCluskey
A1 Jennifer E Thorne
A1 John H Kempen
A1 Manfred Zierhut
A1 Quan Dong Nguyen
A1 Carlos Pavesio
A1 Rupesh Agrawal
YR 2021
UL http://bjo.bmj.com/content/105/3/306.abstract
AB The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in December 2019 in Wuhan city, Hubei province, China. This is the third and largest coronavirus outbreak since the new millennium after SARS in 2002 and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in 2012. Over 3 million people have been infected and the COVID-19 has caused more than 217 000 deaths. A concern exists regarding the vulnerability of patients who have been treated with immunosuppressive drugs prior or during this pandemic. Would they be more susceptible to infection by the SARS-CoV-2 and how would their clinical course be altered by their immunosuppressed state? This is a question the wider medical fraternity—including ophthalmologists, rheumatologists, gastroenterologist and transplant physicians among others—must answer. The evidence from the SARS and MERS outbreak offer some degree of confidence that immunosuppression is largely safe in the current COVID-19 pandemic. Preliminary clinical experiences based on case reports, small series and observational studies show the morbidity and mortality rates in immunosuppressed patients may not differ largely from the general population. Overwhelmingly, current best practice guidelines worldwide recommended the continuation of immunosuppression treatment in patients who require them except for perhaps high-dose corticosteroid therapy and in patients with associated risk factors for severe COVID-19 disease.