A study published in Arthritis & Rheumatology has noted that among patients with systemic vasculitis, glucocorticoid use at presentation and comorbid respiratory disease are linked with severe outcomes of COVID-19.

The study looked at data from 65 patients with systemic vasculitis who contracted COVID-19 infection and were registered with the UK and Ireland Vasculitis Registry and the Irish Rare Kidney Disease Registry. Around 85% of the study participants had antineutrophil cytoplasm antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV). About 69% of the participants were receiving background glucocorticoids at the time of COVID-19 diagnosis. Background glucocorticoid treatment was found to be associated with severe outcome with an adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of 3.7. Comorbid respiratory disease was also linked to a severe outcome in these patients with an aOR of 7.5… (DG Alerts)