The impact of COVID-19 on familial Mediterranean fever: a nationwide study

• Published in: Rheumatology international Vol. 41; no. 8; pp. 1447 - 1455
• Main Authors: Günendi, Zafer, Yurdakul, Fatma Gül, Bodur, Hatice, Cengiz, Ahmet Kıvanç, Uçar, Ülkü, Çay, Hasan Fatih, Şen, Nesrin, Keskin, Yaşar, Gürer, Gülcan, Melikoğlu, Meltem Alkan, Altıntaş, Duygu, Deveci, Hülya, Baykul, Merve, Nas, Kemal, Çevik, Remzi, Karahan, Ali Yavuz, Toprak, Murat, Ketenci, Sertaç, Nayimoğlu, Mehmet, Sezer, İlhan, Demir, Ali Nail, Ecesoy, Hilal, Duruöz, Mehmet Tuncay, Yurdakul, Ozan Volkan, Sarıfakıoğlu, Ayşe Banu, Ataman, Şebnem
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.08.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Colchicine - therapeutic use; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - immunology; COVID-19 - mortality; COVID-19 - therapy; COVID-19 - virology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Databases, Factual; Familial Mediterranean Fever - drug therapy; Familial Mediterranean Fever - immunology; Familial Mediterranean Fever - mortality; Female; Hospitalization; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humans; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Observational Research; Prognosis; Rheumatology; SARS-CoV-2 - immunology; SARS-CoV-2 - pathogenicity; Severity of Illness Index; Turkey; Young Adult; Turkey; COVID-19; Familial Mediterranean fever; Hospitalization; Colchicine; Poor outcomes; Rheumatic diseases
• ISSN: 0172-8172; 1437-160X; 1437-160X
• DOI: 10.1007/s00296-021-04892-6

The study aimed to evaluate the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in patients with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) and to assess the relationships between FMF characteristics and severe COVID-19 outcomes such as hospitalization. The study was planned within a national network of 21 different centers. Demographics, FMF-related clinical and genetic characteristics, and COVID-19 outcomes were obtained. A total of 822 patients with FMF (mean age of 36 years) were included in the study. Fifty-nine of them (7%) had a COVID-19 diagnosis confirmed by real-time PCR test or chest CT findings. Most FMF patients with COVID-19 (58) had mild and moderate disease activity. All patients were on colchicine treatment. However, 8 of them (13.6%) were not compliant with colchicine use and 9 of them (15.3%) were colchicine resistant. Twelve FMF patients with COVID-19 were hospitalized. There were 4 patients requiring oxygen support. COVID-19 related complications were observed in 2 patients (1 thromboembolism, 1 acute respiratory distress syndrome). Hospitalized COVID-19 patients with FMF were older than non-hospitalized patients (median ages: 51 and 31 years, respectively; p : 0.002). Other FMF-related characteristics were similar between the groups. FMF-related characteristics were not found to be associated with poor outcomes in COVID-19. Thus, FMF may not be a risk factor for poor COVID-19 outcomes.