COVID-19 in pemphigus vulgaris patients with previous rituximab therapy: A tele-medicine experience.

Shahidi-Dadras, Mohammad; Abdollahimajd, Fahimeh; Ohadi, Laya; Tabary, Mohammadreza; Araghi, Farnaz; Mozafari, Nikoo; Toosi, Parviz; Dadkhahfar, Sahar

Nowadays, rituximab, an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, has revolutionized the treatment of moderate to severe pemphigus from both safety and efficacy perspectives. We aimed to perform a tele-dermatology study to evaluate the development of COVID-19 or its associated symptoms in pemphigus vulgaris (PV) patients who received rituximab treatment within five years from the initiation of pandemic. This cross-sectional study was performed on May 2020 with tele-medicine follow-up method in our center. Patients with PV who received rituximab treatment between 2014 and 2020 in our hospital were enrolled. Presence of COVID-19 symptoms or confirmed history of COVID-19 infection was recorded. We evaluated the records of 167 patients who received rituximab in our hospital. Out of Among these patients, 45 (26.9%) received rituximab within a year from the current pandemic. We identified 5 (4 female) cases of COVID-19 confirmed with computerized tomography (CT) scan with a mean age of 41.8 ± 9.6, and none of them have received rituximab within a year from the current pandemic. Among these 5 patients, 4 cases presented with COVID-19 symptoms. One case was asymptomatic and she was diagnosed accidentally. None of them needed hospitalization. Also, none of the other patients in our series (rather than these 5 cases) experienced COVID-19 symptoms.