Henry ford health system, Health care company

New York, Sep 15 Patients on immunosuppressive therapy for common skin and rheumatic diseases like psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis are not at increased risk for contracting Covid-19 and should continue taking their medicine as prescribed, say researchers.According to the study, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, most of these patients are not at any greater risk for Covid-19 than the general population, despite their weakened immune system."If you require an immune suppressant medication for your condition to be well controlled, you should not be afraid to continue that medication during the pandemic," said study author Jesse Veenstra from Henry Ford Health System in the US.For the findings, the research team analysed the association between immunosuppressive medications for skin diseases and the risk of Covid-19 infection and outcomes.Until recently, little was known about managing patients on these medications in the pandemic and whether they may be at increased risk for infection with Covid-19 or related complications because of their weakened immune system.The team conducted a retrospective analysis of 213 patients who were taking immunosuppressive medication for immune-mediated inflammatory disease.The patients were tested for Covid-19 between February 1 and April 18 and had been receiving immunosuppressive medication for at least one month prior to being tested for Covid-19.The findings showed that, of the 213 patients, 36 per cent tested Covid-19 positive and had no greater odds of being hospitalised or placed on a ventilator than the general population.There was no evidence that any single immunosuppressive medication increased a patient's odds for testing positive or developing serious disease.Patients prescribed a TNF alpha inhibitor had significantly lower odds for hospitalisation. TNF alpha inhibitors are part of a class of immunosuppressive biologics used to stop inflammation."More research is needed to fully explain this finding, but it may suggest that multiple medications further suppress a patient's immune system, thus rendering them more susceptible to Covid-19," Veenstra noted.( With inputs from IANS )Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

Home

City

Latest News

Cricket

LT Premium

National

International

Maharashtra

Opinions

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

Nagpur

Entertainment

Photos

Business

Technology

Sports

Lifestyle

Social Viral

Lokmat Games

Health

Narendra Modi

Lok Sabha Election 2024

Heatwave In India

Mumbai Water Cut

Maharashtra Lok Sabha Election

IPL 2024

Henry Ford Health SystemFOLLOW

Henry ford health system, Latest News

Health :Immuno suppressing drugs do not increase Covid-19 risk: Study

New York, Sep 15 Patients on immunosuppressive therapy for common skin and rheumatic diseases like psoriasis and rheumatoid ... ...