Advances in Rheumatology (Jun 2023)

Post-acute COVID-19 in three doses vaccinated autoimmune rheumatic diseases patients: frequency and pattern of this condition

  • Clovis Artur Silva,
  • Leonard de Vinci Kanda Kupa,
  • Ana Cristina Medeiros-Ribeiro,
  • Sandra Gofinet Pasoto,
  • Carla Gonçalves Schahin Saad,
  • Emily Figueiredo Neves Yuki,
  • Joaquim Ivo Vasques Dantas Landim,
  • Victor Hugo Ferreira e Léda,
  • Luisa Sacchi de Camargo Correia,
  • Artur Fonseca Sartori,
  • Carolina Campagnoli Machado Freire Martins,
  • Carolina Torres Ribeiro,
  • Filipe Waridel,
  • Victor Adriano de Oliveira Martins,
  • Samuel Katsuyuki Shinjo,
  • Danieli Castro Oliveira Andrade,
  • Percival Degrava Sampaio-Barros,
  • Eduardo Ferreira Borba Neto,
  • Nadia Emi Aikawa,
  • Eloisa Bonfa

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s42358-023-00309-z
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 63, no. 1
pp. 1 – 7

Abstract

Read online

Abstract Background Data on post-acute COVID-19 in autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARD) are scarce, focusing on a single disease, with variable definitions of this condition and time of vaccination. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency and pattern of post-acute COVID-19 in vaccinated patients with ARD using established diagnosis criteria. Methods Retrospective evaluation of a prospective cohort of 108 ARD patients and 32 non-ARD controls, diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection (RT-PCR/antigen test) after the third dose of the CoronaVac vaccine. Post-acute COVID-19 (≥ 4 weeks and > 12 weeks of SARS-CoV-2 symptoms) were registered according to the established international criteria. Results ARD patients and non-ARD controls, balanced for age and sex, had high and comparable frequencies of ≥ 4 weeks post-acute COVID-19 (58.3% vs. 53.1%, p = 0.6854) and > 12 weeks post-acute COVID-19 (39.8% vs. 46.9%, p = 0.5419). Regarding ≥ 4 weeks post-acute COVID-19, frequencies of ≥ 3 symptoms were similar in ARD and non-ARD controls (54% vs. 41.2%, p = 0.7886), and this was also similar in > 12 weeks post-acute COVID-19 (68.3% vs. 88.2%, p = 0.1322). Further analysis of the risk factors for ≥ 4 weeks post-acute COVID-19 in ARD patients revealed that age, sex, clinical severity of COVID-19, reinfection, and autoimmune diseases were not associated with this condition (p > 0.05). The clinical manifestations of post-acute COVID-19 were similar in both groups (p > 0.05), with fatigue and memory loss being the most frequent manifestations. Conclusion We provide novel data demonstrating that immune/inflammatory ARD disturbances after third dose vaccination do not seem to be a major determinant of post-acute COVID-19 since its pattern is very similar to that of the general population. Clinical Trials platform (NCT04754698).

Keywords