Ann Rheum Dis: Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the course of the disease in rheumatology patients.

During the epidemic, due to a series of virus isolation control measures, chronically ill patients have difficulties in seeking medical treatment, drug distribution and so on.
study looked at whether a brief decrease in treatment for patients with central spinal arthritis (axSpA), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or psoriasis arthritis (PsA) was associated with worsening of the disease during the new coronary pneumonia epidemic.
study of 666 axSpA, RA and PSA patients included in the Swiss clinical quality management queue compared patients in three stages from January 2020 to June 2020 to report disease activity (before, during and after COVID-19).
found a 52 per cent drop in the number of consultations, while the number of remote assessments increased by 129 per cent.
proportion of patients who did not follow the drug during the pandemic increased slightly, and the difference was statistically significant in patients with axSpA (13.2 per cent before the epidemic, 19.9 per cent during the epidemic period, and p=0.003).
proportion of patients with acute onset of the disease remained stable.
the average of Bath's direct scolitis disease activity index, rheumatoid arthritis disease activity index-5, and overall patient assessment did not increase in patients with axSpA, RA, and PSA.
result, the short-term reduction in treatment had no significant effect on the course of treatment in patients with axSpA, RA, and PSA, based on the outcomes reported by the patients.
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