For a study, researchers sought to determine if noninfectious uveitis (NIU) increased the risk of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection, hospitalization, and mortality. Enrollees who had three years of continuous membership in both medical and pharmaceutical coverage prior to January 20, 2020, were included. The NIU cohort included patients who were diagnosed with NIU within three years after the commencement of the trial. Those having infectious uveitis codes or new NIU diagnoses within the danger period were barred from participating. Cox proportional hazard models were used to calculate unadjusted and adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for all factors for each outcome measure. During the risk period, adjusted models took into consideration patient demographics, health conditions, and immunosuppressive drug usage. COVID-19 infection, COVID-19-related hospitalization, and COVID-19-related in-hospital death rates were discovered using the 10th version of the International Classification of Disease codes.
This research includes 5,806,227 individuals, with 29,869 (0.5%) having been diagnosed with NIU. COVID-19 infection (5.7% vs. 4.5%, P <0.001), COVID-19-related hospitalization (1.2% vs. 0.6%, P <0.001), and COVID-19-related mortality (0.3% vs. 0.1%, P <0.001) were also greater in patients with NIU. In adjusted models, however, NIU was not linked to an increased risk of COVID-19 infection (HR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.00–1.10; P=0.04), hospitalization (HR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.88–1.09; P=0.67), or mortality (HR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.72–1.13, P=0.37). COVID-19 infection, hospitalization, and mortality were all strongly linked to the use of systemic corticosteroids.
COVID-19 infection and severe illness outcomes were substantially more common in patients with NIU. However, rather than NIU itself, this link was related to the demographics, comorbidities, and medicines of NIU patients. COVID-19 infection was much more common in patients who used systemic corticosteroids, and they had a higher risk of hospitalization and mortality while in the hospital. The influence of corticosteroid exposure on COVID-19-related outcomes will require more research.
Reference:www.aaojournal.org/article/S0161-6420(21)00751-X/fulltext
