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Published on: December 9, 2015
Clinical characteristics and outcomes of multiple sclerosis patients with COVID-19 in Toronto, Canada
Jacqueline M Solomon1, Ashley Jones2, Marika Hohol2
1Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, St. Michael's Hospital, University of Toronto, 36 Queen St E, Toronto, Ontario M5B 1W8, Canada; Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Hamilton Health Sciences, McMaster University, 237 Barton St E, Hamilton, Ontario L8L 2X2, Canada.
Objective:
To report clinical characteristics and outcomes of people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) who developed COVID-19 infection in Toronto, Canada.
Methods:
Descriptive, retrospective, single-center study that included all known PwMS at the St. Michael's Hospital MS Clinic who had PCR-confirmed COVID-19 infection between March 2020 and May 2021.
Results:
Of 7000 PwMS in our clinic, 80 (1.1%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Fifty-four (67.5%) were on disease-modifying therapy (DMT) without over-representation of any single treatment. Seventy-one patients (88.8%) had mild symptoms, but nine (11.3%) were hospitalized and one 70-year-old male patient not on treatment died. Of those hospitalized, one-third were treated with ocrelizumab.
Conclusion:
In Toronto, PwMS did not appear to have higher prevalence of COVID-19 infection compared to the general population, but disease severity may be affected by DMT use. Our findings add to the accumulating global data regarding COVID-19 infection in PwMS.
Insights
People with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) in Toronto had a similar COVID-19 infection rate as the general population. Disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) may influence COVID-19 severity in PwMS.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Infectious Diseases
- Immunology
Background:
- Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurological condition.
- The impact of COVID-19 on people with MS (PwMS) is a growing area of research.
- Understanding COVID-19 outcomes in PwMS is crucial for patient management.
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