Comparison of nailfold capillaroscopy findings in COVID-19 survivors with and without rheumatic disease: a case-control study


KAPLAN H., CENGİZ G., ŞAŞ S., KARA H.

CUKUROVA MEDICAL JOURNAL, cilt.49, sa.1, ss.71-80, 2024 (ESCI) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 49 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2024
  • Doi Numarası: 10.17826/cumj.1382804
  • Dergi Adı: CUKUROVA MEDICAL JOURNAL
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Academic Search Premier, Directory of Open Access Journals, TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.71-80
  • Erciyes Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the nailfold capillaroscopy (NFC) findings of patients with rheumatic disease and healthy controls (HCs) who survived coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Materials and Methods: This study included patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who recovered from COVID-19 and HCs. NFC was performed for all participants. NFC findings of the three groups [patients with COVID-19 (group 1), HCs with COVID-19 (group 2), and HCs without COVID-19 (group 3)] were compared. Results: A total of 142 individuals (group 1, n = 42; group 2, n = 50; group 3, n = 50) were included in the study. Hospitalization and oxygen therapy were more common in group 1 than in group 2. The median time from a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)positive real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test to NFC was 10.3 (6.3-24.4) weeks in group 1 and 17.1 (6.1-44.9) weeks in group 2. All NFC findings did not differ among the groups except for capillary ramifications, which were higher in group 1 than in groups 2 and 3. Underlying rheumatic disease was the only predictor that was significantly associated with capillary ramifications. Conclusion: The NFC findings of COVID-19 survivors with and without rheumatic disease were substantially similar to those of HCs who did not have COVID-19. Capillary ramifications may result from an underlying rheumatic disease in patients with axSpA, PsA, and RA.