Can SARS-CoV-2 trigger new onset of autoimmune disease in adults? A case-based review

Although it has been proposed that SARS-CoV-2 can cause autoimmunity by inducing a transient immunodeficiency of both innate and acquired immunity components in which the immune system fails to identify autoantigens adequately, the exact mechanism that causes this disease remains unknown. We aim to systematically review of existing case reports for evidence of new autoimmune diseases in adults caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection.

PRISMA-P 2020 method was used to search for literature in "PubMed" databases using the string "COVID-19 AND autoimmune disease AND complication". We used JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist to assess the articles' quality.

The literature search yielded 666 articles. 58 articles met our eligibility criteria. Based on our critical appraisal, we placed 35 articles in the good category and 23 articles in the medium category. Data was synthesized by grouping similar data into a table, including: gender, age, COVID-19 severity, types of autoimmune diseases, autoimmune profile and relevant findings, when autoimmune diseases are diagnosed, complications, and outcome to draw conclusions. The new onset of autoimmune disease in adult triggered by SARS-CoV-2 included Guillain-Barré syndrome and Miller Fisher syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, immune thrombocytopenia, autoimmune haemolytic anemia, latent autoimmune diabetes in adults, myositis, acute demyelinating encephalomyelitis, autoimmune encephalitis, central nervous system vasculitis, and autoimmune thyroid diseases.

SARS-CoV-2 can trigger new onset of a variety of autoimmune diseases. Doctors who take care patients infected by COVID-19 must be aware of the complications of autoimmune diseases. Future cohort or cross-sectional studies on SARS-CoV-2-related autoimmune disease should be conducted.