• Ted R Mikuls, Sindhu R Johnson, Liana Fraenkel, Reuben J Arasaratnam, Lindsey R Baden, Bonnie L Bermas, Winn Chatham, Stanley Cohen, Karen Costenbader, Ellen M Gravallese, Andre C Kalil, Michael E Weinblatt, Kevin Winthrop, Amy S Mudano, Amy Turner, and Kenneth G Saag.
• University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska and VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System, Omaha, Nebraska.
• Arthritis Rheumatol. 2020 Aug 1; 72 (8): 1241-1251.

ObjectiveTo provide guidance to rheumatology providers on the management of adult rheumatic disease in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.MethodsA task force, including 10 rheumatologists and 4 infectious disease specialists from North America, was convened. Clinical questions were collated, and an evidence report was rapidly generated and disseminated. Questions and drafted statements were reviewed and assessed using a modified Delphi process. This included 2 rounds of asynchronous anonymous voting by e-mail and 3 webinars with the entire panel. Task force members voted on agreement with draft statements using a 1-9-point numerical scoring system, and consensus was determined to be low, moderate, or high based on the dispersion of votes. For approval, median votes were required to meet predefined levels of agreement (median values of 7-9, 4-6, and 1-3 defined as agreement, uncertainty, or disagreement, respectively) with either moderate or high levels of consensus.ResultsThe task force approved 77 initial guidance statements: 36 with moderate and 41 with high consensus. These were combined, resulting in 25 final guidance statements.ConclusionThese guidance statements are provided to promote optimal care during the current pandemic. However, given the low level of available evidence and the rapidly evolving literature, this guidance is presented as a "living document," and future updates are anticipated.© 2020, American College of Rheumatology.

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