Systematic analysis of COVID-19 infection and symptoms in a systemic lupus erythematosus population: correlation with disease characteristics, hydroxychloroquine use and immunosuppressive treatments

6/25 Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis study (treated before exposed to the virus)

Gendebien et al., Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, doi:10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-218244 (Letter)
Systematic analysis of COVID-19 infection and symptoms in a systemic lupus erythematosus population: correlation with disease characteristics, hydroxychloroquine use and immunosuppressive treatments

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Small study of 152 SLE patients taking HCQ with a phone survey for COVID-19 suggestive symptoms. There was 2 hospitalizations (group not identified) and no ICU or death cases. A similar percentage of suspected infections were reported for HCQ users and non-HCQ users, RR 0.96, p = 0.93.

There was no mortality and severity was not analyzed to determine if HCQ treated patients fared better. No adjustment for concomitant medications or severity of SLE. Only 5 cases were PCR confirmed.

Gendebien et al., 6/25/2020, retrospective, Belgium, Europe, preprint, survey, 9 authors.

risk of COVID-19 case, 3.9% lower, RR 0.96, p = 0.93, treatment 12 of 152 (7.9%), control 6 of 73 (8.2%).

This study is excluded in meta analysis: not fully adjusting for the baseline risk differences within systemic autoimmune patients.

Effect extraction follows pre-specified rules prioritizing more serious outcomes. For an individual study the most serious outcome may have a smaller number of events and lower statistical signficance, however this provides the strongest evidence for the most serious outcomes when combining the results of many trials.

All 344 studies Meta Analysis

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