Mild course of Coronavirus disease 2019 and spontaneous severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 clearance in a patient with depleted peripheral blood B‐cells due to treatment with rituximab

Fallet, Benedict; Kyburz, Diego; Walker, Ulrich A.

Over 4 million cases of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) have been confirmed worldwide. Up to 20% of cases develop severe disease and the fatality rate are high.[1] Little is known however on the course of the infection in immunosuppressed patients. We therefore report the case of a patient with COVID‐19 under immunosuppression with rituximab. This 77‐year‐old woman was admitted to the hospital with a 5‐week history of unclear fever (up to 38.5°C), hypotension (80 mmHg systolic on self‐measurement), occasional mild shortness of breath and intermittent dry cough.