ABSTRACT
BackgroundIn February 2021, the first doses of COVID-19 vaccines were received in Paraguay, and rheumatic patients were the preferred population to get these vaccines. Up to December 2022 the vaccination coverage in Paraguay was 59.4%, with at least one vaccine dose. 52.4% accessed the primary scheme (two doses), while 28.6% had at least one booster dose. Only 7.1% completed the COVID-19 immunization scheme.ObjectivesTo describe vaccination against COVID-19 in Paraguayan patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).MethodsDescriptive, cross sectional, observational study, in a Paraguayan cohort of RA patients meeting ACR/EULAR2010 criteria, under follow-up in two Rheumatology reference centers, from October to December 2022. A standardized questionnaire according to the variables included (clinical, vaccination, vaccine type, number of doses) was made. Quantitative variables were presented as means and qualitative as frequencies.Results568 patients with RA were included, 84.1% were female, mean age 55.48±13.94 years old. 23.9% patients were from Hospital de Clínicas and 76.1% from Hospital Central del Instituto de Previsión Social. The average number of received vaccinations doses was 2.54±1.19. 88.7% of patients acquired at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, 85% obtained two doses;and, while 60.9% of patients received the first booster, 21.2% had the second one.ConclusionIn this series of Paraguayan RA patients, vaccination against COVID-19 is higher than the general population, perhaps due to priority of patients with rheumatic diseases receiving immunization, and frequent access to medical care with physician's prompt to receive vaccinations. While over 80% of patients have a complete primary schedule, and more than 60% received the first booster;only 21% have a complete immunization schedule, which is still much higher than the general population in Paraguay.Table 1.Vaccines in Paraguayan patients with Reumatoid ArthritisVaccines against COVID-19First Dose n: 504Second Dose n: 483First booster n: 344Second booster n: 122Sputnik V(Gam--COVID-Vac) n (%)149 (26.2)137 (24.1)10 (1.8)0Astrazeneca (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) n (%)172 (30.3)171 (30.1)110 (19.4)36 (29.5)Pfizer n (BNT162b2) (%)81 (14.3)80 (14.1)198 (34.9)68 (55.7)Moderna (mRNA-1273) n (%)41 (7.2)38 (6.7)22 (3.9)18 (14.8)Hayat Vax n (%)29 (5.1)28 (4.9)1 (0.2)0Sinopharm BBIBP n (%)2 (0.4)1 (0.2)00Covaxin n (%)28 (4.9)26 (4.6)3 (0.5)0CoronaVac n (%)2 (0.4)2 (0.4)00REFERENCES:NIL.Acknowledgements:NIL.Disclosure of InterestsNone Declared.
ABSTRACT
Objectives: BIOBADAGUAY is the Paraguayan/Uruguayan registry of adverse events in patients with inflammatory rheumatic conditions under biologic therapy (BT). Three years have elapsed from the first case of coronavirus and data about South American patients with COVID are still scarce. In this study we analyzed the frequency and clinical outcomes of COVID-19 in a cohort of patients with rheumatic diseases from Paraguay. Method(s): A cross sectional study of Paraguayan patients with rheumatic diseases from BIOBADAGUAY and controls without BT. Clinical, epidemiological, and COVID-19 data were analyzed. Only cases confirmed by SARSCoV-2 positive PCR test were included. Descriptive analysis were performed for this study. Result(s): 832 patients were included (696 under BT and 136 controls). 116 (13.9%) had COVID-19. 22 had a second infection and 9 a third reinfection. Table 1 shows characteristic of COVID-19 patients. The most frequent diagnosis was rheumatoid arthritis (n = 93, 80.2%) followed by ankylosing spondylitis (n = 6, 5.2%), undifferentiated spondylarthritis (n = 5, 4.3%), psoriatic arthritis (n = 4, 3.4%), juvenile onset arthritis (n = 2, 1.7%), vasculitis (n = 2, 1.7%). Only 1 case (0.8%) were registered for Still's disease, enteropathic spondylarthritis, systemic sclerosis and seronegative polyarthritis, respectively. When comorbidities were analyzed, 46 (39.6%) patients had at least one (Table 1). Of the total treatments received: 65 (56.0%) had methotrexate, 53 (45.7%) leflunomide, 3 (2.5%) sulfasalazine, 15 (12.9%) hydroxychloroquine, 25 (21.5%) glucocorticoid, 52 (44.8%) anti-TNF and 20 (17.2%) non-anti-TNF. COVID-19 severity outcomes were: 101(87%) non severe, 31 (26.7%) severe and 1 fatal(0.8%). 189 (90.9%) patients received vaccination and the mean number of doses were 2.5 doses. 55 (26.4%) had COVID prior to vaccination Conclusion(s): In this study we examined the frequency of COVID-19 in Paraguayan patients with rheumatic diseases. In this cohort of rheumatologic patients, COVID 19 severity was similar to the one in the general population.
ABSTRACT
Objectives: Immunization against COVID-19 in Paraguay began in February 2021, and patients with rheumatic diseases were the preferred population to get vaccinated. Up to December 2022 the immunization coverage in Paraguay was 59.4%, with at least one vaccine dose. 52.4% accessed the primary immunization schedule (two doses), while 28.6% had at least one booster dose. Only 7.1% received the complete schedule. The aim of this study was to describe the frequency of vaccination, the number of doses, and the type of vaccines against COVID-19 in Paraguayan patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). Method(s): Descriptive, cross sectional, observational study, in a Paraguayan cohort of RA patients meeting the 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria, under follow-up in two Rheumatology reference centers, from October to December 2022. A standardized questionnaire according to the variables included (clinical, vaccination, vaccine type, number of doses)was made. Quantitative variables were presented as means and qualitative as frequencies. Result(s): 568 patients with RA were included, 84.1% were female, mean age 55.48 +/- 13.94 years. The average number vaccinations doses received was 2.54 +/- 1.19. 88.7% of patients acquired at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, 85%obtained two doses;and, while 60.9% of patients received the first booster, 21.2% had the second one. The table describes the characteristics of the received vaccines. Conclusion(s): In this series of Paraguayan RA patients, vaccination against COVID-19 was higher than the general population, perhaps due to priority of patients with rheumatic diseases receiving immunization, and frequent access to medical care with physician's prompting them to receive the vaccine. While over 80% of patients have a complete primary schedule, and more than 60% received the first booster;only 21% have a complete immunization schedule, which is still much higher than the general population of Paraguay.