COVID-19 Effect in Pediatric Rheumatology Patients

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of SARSCoV-2 in pediatric patients with rheumatic disease during the COVID-19 pandemic and to evaluate the effects of medication used for rheumatic disease on seroprevalence. Material and Methods: Between September 2020 and September 2021, 170 patients aged 2-18 years with a diagnosis of rheumatological disease and with a follow-up period of higher than six months were included in the study. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies against the S1 domain of the SARSCoV-2 spike protein were investigated with a micro ELISA kit. Results: Of the 170 patients, 92 (54.1%) were females, and the mean age was 12.16 ± 4.18 years. MEFV mutation was investigated in 131 of the patients. Of the patients, 14.7% were on steroids and 16.5% were on biologic agents. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody was positive in 40 (23.5%) of the patients. IgG seropositivity of the patients with and without MEFV mutation were similar (p= 0.991). IgG was positive in 25% of the patients with biologic agents and in 23.2% of those who did not (p= 0.505). Thirty-eight (22.4%) of the patients had close contact with an individual diagnosed with COVID-19. Thirty two (18.9%) patients underwent PCR testing for SARS-CoV-2. Of these 32 patients, 28.1% were positive for IgG. During the pandemic period, 19 (11.2%) had a new symptom/sign of their disease. The rate of patients with a new symptom/sign was higher in the seropositive group than in the seronegative group (20.0% vs. 8.5%, p= 0.046). Conclusion: We found that SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence was 23.5% in children with a diagnosis of rheumatic disease. The distribution of the primary disease and medical therapies used were similar between seropositive and seronegative patients. We found that patients with a new symptom/sign of their disease was higher in the seropositive group than in the seronegative group.