The MuSC-19 study: The Egyptian cohort

Abstract

Objective : This study aimed to report the severity of COVID-19 in a cohort of Egyptian patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) with particular attention on the impact of disease modifying drugs (DMDs). Methods and study population : We included 119 MS patients recruited from two centers, Ain-Shams university and Cairo university with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 during the period from May to September 2020 as a part of the MuSC-19 project. Univariate logistic regression was fitted to assess risk factors for severe COVID-19 (at least one outcome among hospitalization, ICU admission and death). Results : Females were 77%, mean age was 34 years, mean duration of MS was 5.28 years, median EDSS was 3, most of the patients (83%) had RRMS, while 15% and 2% had respectively SPMS and PPMS. Only eleven patients (9% of study population) had a severe outcome and 3 patients (3%) died. Headache was the only symptom significantly associated with the severity of COVID-19 (OR=10.85, P = 0.001). There was no association between any of the DMDs and severe COVID-19 outcome. Conclusion : This study showed an acceptable safety profile of DMDs in Egyptian MS patients who developed COVID-19, as 91% of the cohort had a favorable outcome. Headache as a symptom associated with severe outcome in Egyptian patients’ needs further validation.

The disease course of multiple sclerosis before and during COVID-19 pandemic: A retrospective five-year study

“…Thus, the risk of COVID-19 in our patients with MS was likely related to noncompliance to the preventive measures, as expected in younger patients. Furthermore, our findings were similar to reports published from Saudi Arabia and the region ( Alshamrani et al, 2021 , Zakaria et al, 2021 , Sahraian et al, 2020 , Sen et al, 2021 ). A recent meta-analysis reported a pooled prevalence of 4 % of COVID-19 in patients with MS, with 10 % hospitalization and pooled death rates of 4 % ( Moghadasi et al, 2021 ).…”

Rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and lupus: key points from the COVID-19 era

“…24,33,34,36 Regarding disease-modifying drugs (DMDs) several good and reasonable studies showed no impact of their use in the susceptibility to SARS-Cov-2 infection. 24,26,32,38 Interestingly, older studies from 2020 showed the same preliminary results despite lack of confirmation of SARS-Cov-2 infection. 47…”

“…These studies were classified as "fair" or even "poor". 22,32,42 On the other hand, public health protection measures influenced people's behaviour, with different results for similar studies in similar cohorts. The importance of the public health measures in the context of COVID-19 was mentioned by Ramirez et al associating them with the lower number of COVID-19 cases in patients with AD.…”

A multiparametric score for assessing the individual risk of severe Covid-19 among patients with Multiple Sclerosis

“…Future research should also evaluate the performance of the score in other countries. Differences in hospitalizations rates among countries can indeed depend on quality and accessibility of Health Service but also on the national guidelines regarding the hospital admission of the patients ( Fragoso et al, 2021 Oct , Zakaria et al, 2021 Nov ). As first preliminary analysis or in the absence of studies presenting specific-region scores, for patients outside Italy, Turkey and South America, the score may be calculated on the basis of which of the three regions is the most similar to the country under study in terms of National Health Service and Covid-19 cases management.…”