Rheumatology international
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COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, is a global public health issue threatening millions of lives worldwide. Although the infection is mild in most of the affected individuals, it may cause severe clinical manifestations such as acute respiratory distress syndrome or cytokine storm leading to death. Children are affected less, and most experience a milder disease. ⋯ Only one of these patients was a child. Among these, 9 (3.9%) died due to COVID-19. In light of the current data, the aspects of COVID-19 resembling rheumatic diseases, the possible reasons for why children are affected less severely, the hypothetic role of available vaccines in preventing COVID-19, the unique position of patients with rheumatic diseases in this pandemic, and the use of anti-rheumatic drugs in COVID-19 treatment are discussed.
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Observational Study
Peripheral neuropathy and health-related quality of life in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome: a preliminary report.
Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is a chronic autoimmune disease with a wide spectrum of possible organ involvement. Peripheral (PNS) and central nervous system (CNS)-related symptoms may occur in the course of the disease. The aim of this study was to compare the health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) in SS patients with and without peripheral neuropathy. ⋯ The following domains of the SF-36 form were significantly lower scored by patients with peripheral nervous system involvement: role-physical [0 (0-100) vs. 75 (0-100)], role-emotional [67 (0-100) vs. 100 (0-100)], vitality [40 (10-70) vs. 50 (20-75)], bodily pain [45 (10-75) vs. 55 (0-100)], and general health [20 (5-50) vs. 30 (0-50)] (p ≤ 0.05). Our study showed that peripheral neuropathy was a common organ-specific complication in SS patients. In pSS patients, coexisting neurological involvement with symptoms such as pain and physical disability may be responsible for diminished HR-QOL.