The influence of leprosy-related clinical and epidemiological variables in the occurrence and severity of COVID-19: A prospective real-world cohort study.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis
; 15(7): e0009635, 2021 07.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34319982
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Protective effects of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination and clofazimine and dapsone treatment against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection have been reported. Patients at risk for leprosy represent an interesting model for assessing the effects of these therapies on the occurrence and severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We assessed the influence of leprosy-related variables in the occurrence and severity of COVID-19. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPALFINDINGS:
We performed a 14-month prospective real-world cohort study in which the main risk factor was 2 previous vaccinations with BCG and the main outcome was COVID-19 detection by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). A Cox proportional hazards model was used. Among the 406 included patients, 113 were diagnosed with leprosy. During follow-up, 69 (16.99%) patients contracted COVID-19. Survival analysis showed that leprosy was associated with COVID-19 (p<0.001), but multivariate analysis showed that only COVID-19-positive household contacts (hazard ratio (HR) = 8.04; 95% CI = 4.93-13.11) and diabetes mellitus (HR = 2.06; 95% CI = 1.04-4.06) were significant risk factors for COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:
Leprosy patients are vulnerable to COVID-19 because they have more frequent contact with SARS-CoV-2-infected patients, possibly due to social and economic limitations. Our model showed that the use of corticosteroids, thalidomide, pentoxifylline, clofazimine, or dapsone or BCG vaccination did not affect the occurrence or severity of COVID-19.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
COVID-19
/
Lepra
Tipo de estudio:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Etiology_studies
/
Incidence_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Límite:
Humans
País/Región como asunto:
America do sul
/
Brasil
Idioma:
En
Revista:
PLoS Negl Trop Dis
Asunto de la revista:
MEDICINA TROPICAL
Año:
2021
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Brasil