We have read with interest the work of Bozzalla-Cassione et al 1 published recently in your journal regarding the implementation of a telemedicine programme for patients with lupus in northern Italy. It is logical to suppose that the risk of patients with rheumatic diseases of having a more severe clinical course if they become infected with the COVID-19 infection is very high; however, although some of the reports show that there seems to be a low incidence of COVID-19 infection in patients with rheumatic disease, collaborative work with large cohorts is needed, which could show us the real incidence of COVID-19 infection in these patients and what happens with the establishment of telemedicine programmes. [2][3][4][5][6] We show an experience in a specialised centre in Bogota, Colombia; currently, we have a cohort of 5597 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in exclusively ambulatory care. On 12 March 2020, in Colombia, the health emergency by COVID-19 was established and a week later the Ministry of Health ordered the outpatient care procedure for the population in isolation. From that moment on, our institution, carrying out the proper logistical and legal processes, proceeded to convert its ambulatory care services into care through telemedicine.By telecounselling, patients were offered consultation by telemedicine due to the high epidemiological risk of COVID-19; the patient gave informed consent to accept it or otherwise to request a face-to-face consultation despite the epidemiological risk warning; a third option was that the patient did not accept telemedicine or face-to-face consultation for personal reasons.Here, we report the outcomes since 21 March-16 May (8 weeks later). For rheumatology care, the doctor must request informed consent for the consultation; then a standardised protocol was applied both for RA and also for suspected symptoms of COVID-19; as a measure of disease activity Patient Activity Score (PAS) was applied, and Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) was also evaluated. When during the consultation the doctor finds that there is potentially high activity of the disease, a face-to-face consultation was ordered. In case of need, patients are sent to telemedicine consultation with the physiatrist or psychologist. For face-to-face consultation, standardised clinimetry instruments are used.Until May the 16 (8 weeks later), 3503 patients have been followed up; 3228 (92%) have been seen by telemedicine and 275 (8%) by conventional face-to-face consultation; of these patients, 55 (20%) men and 220 (80%) women attended the face-to-face consultation; of patients attended by telemedicine, 567 (17.5%) were men and 2661 (82.5%) were women. Regarding COVID-19 infection, in 3 of the 275 patients who attended an in-person consultation, COVID-19 infection was suspected due to respiratory symptoms, but was finally ruled out. None of the patients seen so far by telemedicine had suspected COVID-19 by clinic or had contact with COVID-19 confirmed patients.At first glance, these results seem surprisin...

This study evaluated a non-face-to-face-multidisciplinary consultation model in a population with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is an analytical observational study of a prospective cohort with simple random sampling. RA patients were followed for 12 weeks (Jul–Oct 2020). Two groups were included: patients in telemedicine care (TM), and patients in the usual face-to-face care (UC). Patients could voluntarily change the care model (transition model (TR)). Activity of disease, quality of life, disability, therapeutic adherence, and self-care ability were analyzed. Bivariate analysis was performed. A qualitative descriptive exploratory study was conducted. At the beginning, 218 adults were included: (109/TM-109/UC). The groups didn’t differ in general characteristics. At the end of the study, there were no differences in TM: (n = 71). A significant (p < 0.05) decrease in adherence, and increase in self-care ability were found in UC (n = 18) and TR (n = 129). Seven patients developed COVID-19. Four categories emerged from the experience of the subjects in the qualitative assessment (factors present in communication, information and communication technologies management, family support and interaction, and adherence to treatment). The telemedicine model keeps RA patients stable without major differences compared to the usual care or mixed model.

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Background:The Covid-19 pandemic has generated restrictions in the mobility of people, affecting the face-to-face care of patients with chronic diseases, including autoimmune. The health emergency has created the need to establish follow-up alternatives, giving rise to telemedicine.Objectives:To evaluate the level of attendance to teleconsultation and the face-to-face usual care in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who underwent to a developed innovative telemedicine program after the declaration of quarantine due to the Covid-19 pandemic.Methods:The present cross-sectional descriptive study reports retrospective data collected from patients with RA and SLE from March to June, 2020;. Since the beginning of March 2020 when Covid-19 was declared in Colombia as a health emergency establishing specific standards for outpatient care, our center has made the necessary legal and technical adjustments to develop an innovative telemedicine service to prevent the epidemiological risk. To all contacted patients were offered the option of teleconsultation or face-to-face consultation; a standardized protocol was set with clinimetry measures evaluated in both groups. Continuous variables were described using mean and standard deviation, and categorical variables were described using numbers and percentages. We performed chi-square tests of independence to determine differences between teleconsulting and conventional face-to-face consultation.Results:A total of 5745 RA patients were followed-up, 5292 (92.1%) by teleconsulting and 453 (7.9%) by conventional face-to-face consultation; among the group of SLE patients, a total of 646 were assessed, of which there were 386 (60%) by teleconsultation and 260 (40%) by face-to-face consultation; this highlights an important difference in the level of acceptance of the teleconsultation between patients with RA and SLE, being much lower in patients with SLE (p value< 0.0001). Regarding gender differences, in men, there were 33 (12.7%) SLE and 89 (19.6%) RA face-to-face consultations, while in women there were 227 (87.3%) SLE and 364 (80.4%) RA in a face-to-face consultation. Regarding patients who were attended through telemedicine, 45 (11.7%) SLE and 966 (18.3%) RA were men, while 341 (88.3%) SLE and 4326 (81.7%) RA were women; that means, in the RA cohort, a greater number of men prefer the face-to-face consultation than in the SLE cohort (p value< 0.0185). 10 RA patients were diagnosed with the Covid-19 in teleconsultation; in all cases, close contact with infected relatives was verified as the probable cause.Table 1.Differences by gender in the level of teleconsultation acceptance and face-to-face assistance in patients with SLE and RARA PatientsGenderTeleconsulting (%a)Face-to-face consultation (%a)Male105596691,57%898,43%Female4690432692,23%3647,77%SLE PatientsGenderTeleconsulting (%a)Face-to-face consultation (%a)Male784557,69%3342,31%Female56834160,03%22739,97%a Total percentage of patients by gender. RA: Rheumatoid arthritis; SLE: Systemic lupus erythematosus.Conclusion:Telemedicine may provide a viable option for the follow-up of patients with rheumatological diseases even beyond the pandemic. But unexpectedly, data showed an important difference in the acceptance of teleconsultation between patients with RA and SLE, being much higher in older and/or male patients with RA compared to patients with SLE; however, further studies are needed to support this conclusion.Disclosure of Interests:None declared

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