Prevalence of coronavirus disease 2019 in patients with neuromyelitis optica in Isfahan, Iran, and a review on recent reports and literature

Masoud Etemadifar; Mehri Salari; Zahra Aminzade; Sara Ebrahimi; Sepand Tehrani-Fateh

doi:10.18502/cjn.v20i3.7689

Masoud Etemadifar Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
Mehri Salari Functional Neurosurgery Research Center, Shohada Tajrish Comprehensive Neurosurgical Center of Excellence, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Zahra Aminzade Functional Neurosurgery Research Center, Shohada Tajrish Comprehensive Neurosurgical Center of Excellence, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Sara Ebrahimi School of Medicine, Yazd University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
Sepand Tehrani-Fateh Functional Neurosurgery Research Center, Shohada Tajrish Comprehensive Neurosurgical Center of Excellence, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/cjn.v20i3.7689

Keywords: Neuromyelitis Optica; Autoimmune Disease; SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19

Abstract

Background: Despite many studies, it is still unclear how patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) would respond to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We conducted a research on prevalence of COVID-19 in patients with NMOSD in Isfahan, Iran. We have also reviewed the recent publications on this issue.

Methods: 149 patients with NMOSD who were under medications were monitored for confirmed cases of COVID-19. Prevalence of COVID-19 in addition to mean age, mean duration of disease, and mean age of onset of infected patients and uninfected patients were calculated via Microsoft Excel software.

Results: The prevalence of COVID-19 in studied patients with NMOSD was 5.37%. Mean age, mean duration of disease, and mean age of onset of eight patients (male to female ratio: 1:3) diagnosed with COVID-19 were 33.62 ± 5.20 years, 6.87 ± 6.05 years, and 26.75 ± 6.94 years, respectively, while they were 39.97 ± 11.37 years, 7.50 ± 3.91 years, and
32.46 ± 11.29 years for uninfected patients with NMOSD (n = 141). No significant association was observed between the type of medications and prevalence of COVID-19 (P > 0.05).

Conclusion: There is not a consensus in the literature on the prevalence of COVID-19 in patients with NMOSD and the effect of NMOSD medications on susceptibility to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The prevalence of COVID-19 in our sample was 5.37%. The impact of the kind of NMOSD medication on the prevalence of COVID-19 in patients with NMOSD was found to be insignificant. Moreover, the infected patients were relatively younger, and their disease started earlier in comparison to uninfected patients.