COVID-19 outcomes in patients with familial Mediterranean fever: a retrospective cohort study

Abstract

Aim of this study is to investigate the course of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), in our cohort of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) patients in means of mortality, admission to hospital and/or intensive care unit and length of hospital stay.A retrospective cohort was formed from patients who have previously been followed with a diagnosis of FMF. Patients of this cohort were retrospectively evaluated for a positive severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV 2) polymerized chain reaction (PCR) test result and information regarding hospitalisation, intensive care unit admission and mortality were collected from medical records.Out of a total 496 FMF patients, 34 were detected to have a positive SARS-CoV 2 PCR test. Eighty-five point three percent of these patients were under colchicine treatment and 17.6% were under interleukin (IL)—1 inhibitor treatment. Eight of the 34 patients (23.9%) were found to be hospitalized, one of them was admitted to the intensive care unit and died thereafter (2.9%). An increasing trend in the frequency of comorbid diseases (presence of at least one comorbidity 64.7% in all patients vs 75.0% in hospitalized patients) and IL-1 inhibitor usage (17.6% in all patients vs 50.0% in hospitalized patients) was observed in hospitalized patients.Rates of comorbid diseases and IL-1 inhibitor use for FMF were observed to be increased in FMF patients hospitalized for COVID-19.