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. 2021 Jun:51:102886.
doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2021.102886. Epub 2021 Mar 7.

COVID-19 in multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder patients in Latin America: COVID-19 in MS and NMOSD patients in LATAM

Ricardo Alonso  1 , Berenice Silva  2 , Orlando Garcea  2 , Patricio E Correa Diaz  3 , Giordani Rodrigues Dos Passos  4 , Deyanira A Ramirez Navarro  5 , Luis A Garcia Valle  6 , Luis C Rodriguez Salinas  7 , Laura Negrotto  8 , Geraldine Luetic  9 , Verónica A Tkachuk  10 , Jimena Míguez  11 , Fernando Hamuy Diaz de Bedoya  12 , Lorna Galleguillos Goiry  13 , Nicia E Ramírez Sánchez  14 , Marcos Burgos  15 , Judith Steinberg  16 , Maria E Balbuena  10 , Priscilla Monterrey Alvarez  17 , Pablo A López  18 , María C Ysrraelit  8 , Rosalba A León  19 , Aron Benzadon Cohen  20 , Fernando Gracia  21 , Omaira Molina  22 , Magdalena Casas  23 , Norma H Deri  24 , Agustín Pappolla  11 , Liliana Patrucco  11 , Edgardo Cristiano  25 , Dario Tavolini  26 , Debora Nadur  27 , Ana M Toral Granda  28 , Roberto Weiser  29 , Fátima Pagani Cassará  30 , Vladimiro Sinay  31 , Claudia Cárcamo Rodríguez  32 , Luciana G Lazaro  2 , María L Menichini  33 , Raúl Piedrabuena  34 , Geraldine Orozco Escobar  35 , Adriana Carrá  16 , Anibal Chertcoff  16 , Biany Santos Pujols  36 , Carlos Vrech  37 , Adriana Tarulla  38 , René Carvajal  39 , Carolina Mainella  40 , Jefferson Becker  4 , Liesbet M Peeters  41 , Clare Walton  42 , Marina Alonso Serena  11 , Sebastián Nuñez  43 , Juan I Rojas  44
Affiliations

COVID-19 in multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder patients in Latin America: COVID-19 in MS and NMOSD patients in LATAM

Ricardo Alonso et al. Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

Background: There is no data regarding COVID-19 in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) patients in Latin America.

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients included in RELACOEM, a LATAM registry of MS and NMOSD patients infected with COVID-19.

Methods: RELACOEM is a longitudinal, strictly observational registry of MS and NMOSD patients who suffer COVID-19 and Dengue in LATAM. Inclusion criteria to the registry were either: (1) a biologically confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis based on a positive result of a COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on a nasopharyngeal swab; or (2) COVID-19-typical symptoms (triad of cough, fever, and asthenia) in an epidemic zone of COVID-19. Descriptive statistics were performed on demographic and clinical variables. The cohort was later stratified for MS and NMOSD and univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify variables associated with hospitalizations/intensive critical units (ICU) admission.

Results: 145 patients were included in the registry from 15 countries and 51 treating physicians. A total of 129 (89%) were MS patients and 16 (11%) NMOSD. 81.4% patients had confirmed COVID-19 and 18.6% were suspected cases. 23 (15.8%) patients were hospitalized, 9 (6.2%) required ICU and 5 (3.4 %) died due to COVID-19. In MS patients, greater age (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.05 - 1.25) and disease duration (OR 1.39, 95%CI 1.14-1.69) were associated with hospitalization/ICU. In NMOSD patients, a greater age (54.3 vs. 36 years, p=<0.001), increased EDSS (5.5 vs 2.9, p=0.0012) and disease duration (18.5 vs. 10.3 years, p=0.001) were significantly associated with hospitalization/ICU.

Conclusion: we found that in MS patients, age and disease duration was associated with hospitalization and ICU admission requirement, while age, disease duration and EDSS was associated in NMOSD.

Keywords: COVID-19; Latin America; NMOSD; multiple sclerosis; registries.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure of conflicts of interest Edgardo Cristiano has received fees for consultations as a scientific advisory board member and for travel to meetings, conferences, and clinical trials of the following companies: Avanir, Bayer, Biogen, Merck, Novartis, Roche and Teva. Juan Ignacio Rojas has received honoraria from Novartis as a scientific advisor. He has received travel grants and attended courses and conferences on behalf of Merck-Serono Argentina, Novartis Argentina. Liliana Patrucco has received honoraria for scientific and research grants from Teva Tuteur, Merck Serono, Biogen Idec, and Bayer Schering. Ricardo Alonso and Berenice Silva has received personal compensation for consulting, serving on a scientific advisory board, speaking, or other activities from Biogen, Merck Serono, Novartis, Sanofi -Genzyme and Roche. Orlando Garcea has received personal compensation for consulting, serving on a scientific advisory board, speaking, or other activities from Biogen, Merck Serono, Novartis, Sanofi -Genzyme and Roche. Liesbet M. Peeters has no personal pecuniary interests to disclose, other than being the chair of The MS Data Alliance (MSDA), which receives income from a range of corporate sponsors, recently including: Biogen, BristolMyersSquibb (formerly Celgene), Canopy Growth Corporation, Genzyme, Icometrix, Merck, Mylan, Novartis, QMENTA, Quanterix, Roche. The rest of authors declares no conflict of interest with the study project.

Figures

Fig. 1:
Fig. 1
Patients included in the registry by country.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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