Katherine Trujillo Useche
Latin Agency for News of Medicine and Public Health
For the whole world it has been a challenge to cope with their illnesses in this time of COVID-19 and confinement, not only the fact of making a change in their daily lives, but also a new way to control their pain in times of pandemic.
In an exclusive interview for Medicine and Public Health, Dr. Oscar Soto Raíces, rheumatologist, Medical Director of Mindful Rheumatix and of the Mindful Medical Research clinical research center, spoke of the different difficulties that can arise when vaccinating patients rheumatic diseases, on the fears these patients have in the face of COVID-19.
For the rheumatologist Soto, the arrival of the pandemic has been another learning, as he has continued working on different investigations and treatments during it and with this it was discovered that some rheumatic patients have a greater risk of contagion of COVID-19, he clarifies that the Those who are most at risk are patients with autoimmune inflammatory conditions, but what has been seen is that if a rheumatic patient has more comorbidities, either cardiovascular or pulmonary diseases, they may be more severe if this person is infected with COVID-19.
“When I speak of rheumatic diseases that comprise so many lethal diseases, despite the fact that there is always a degree of inflammation in the joints or tissues, some conditions such as osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and other inflammatory arthritis that the degree of inflammation is not so much, but In rheumatoid arthritis, in psoriatic arthritis, lupus is already born from a lack of regulation of the immune system, for this we use immunomodulators or immunosuppressants in some cases to control that immune system that lost regulation and using these medications we were afraid at the beginning since it has changed ”. Explains the doctor.
Medications for rheumatic patients help in phases of contagion
The doctor clarifies that the medications that rheumatic patients take do not make them more vulnerable to contagion, it was found that biological treatments that are immunosuppressants generally do not put the patient at a higher risk of suffering from COVID-19.
“What we have learned with the arrival of COVID-19 is that the infected patient goes through stages that are generally 3 different stages: the initial stage after exposure, which are the first 7 days, in this stage the virus can replicate itself, produce some symptoms, and what we have seen at that stage is that if the patient is to be treated, they are given an antiviral or an antibody that attacks the virus. In the second stage after the 7th day the patient may already present symptoms and show markers of systemic inflammation and this is interesting since they are the same markers of inflammation of rheumatic disease patients and if this is not controlled the patient could enter the stage 3 and in this stage different medications have been used, the same ones that we use for rheumatic patients ”, adds Dr. Soto.
Certain patients who are under biological treatments such as immunosuppressants may even be protected from the transmission of COVID-19 to some extent, the doctor clarifies that this does not mean that patients who undergo biological treatments will all be protected.
Vaccine for patients with rheumatic diseases
The rheumatologist ensures that the different vaccines that are in the approval stage are safe for rheumatic patients, especially patients with biological treatments, which means that none of these vaccines are live attenuated, so patients with these diseases can be vaccinated .
“All vaccines can have some side effect and the truth is what is expected and has happened with other vaccines since they are a reaction of the immune system so it is creating antibodies against COVID-19, but what could happen with patients who are on biological treatments, but depending on the type of biological, the response to the vaccine may be diminished, but it does not mean that it will not work, but rather that the response is less ”, indicates the doctor.
Patients with rheumatic diseases are recommended to be able to make a consultation with the specialist beforehand to indicate what is best for them, but the expert clarifies that everyone should be vaccinated, if something were to happen there is an expert staff to be in front of the people who get vaccinated that will help not put the patient at risk, if something happens.
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