ArticleMultiple sclerosis and related disorders2021
Outcomes of COVID-19 among patients treated with subcutaneous interferon beta-1a for multiple sclerosis.
Article in Multiple sclerosis and related disorders, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- COVID-19: The Course, Vaccination and Immune Response in People with Multiple Sclerosis: Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Pooled it
- Assessment of differences in clinical consequences between rituximab and interferon recipients in multiple sclerosis patients after recovery from COVID-19.IBRO neuroscience reports · 2025Article
- Twenty Years of Subcutaneous Interferon-Beta-1a for Multiple Sclerosis: Contemporary Perspectives.Neurology and therapy · 2024Review
- Era of COVID-19 in Multiple Sclerosis Care.Neurologic clinics · 2024Review
- Multiple Sclerosis Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Current neurology and neuroscience reports · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn accordance with expert guidance, patients have typically continued to receive treatment with subcutaneous interferon beta-1a (sc IFN β-1a) for relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) during the COVID-19 pandemic.
methodsWe provide a summary of outcomes among sc IFN β-1a-treated patients with adverse events related to confirmed or suspected COVID-19, as reported to the Merck Global Patient Safety Database (as of 2 February 2021). Serious COVID-19-related adverse events (as classified by the reporting clinician) included those leading to hospitalization, admission to intensive care, or death. Outcomes were classified per usual pharmacovigilance practice.
resultsThe evaluable cohort comprised 603 patients of median age 43 (range, 13-84) years and 75.1% were female. COVID-19 was experienced at a median of 33.0 (range, 0-321.8) months after start of treatment with sc IFN β-1a. A total of 136 (22.6%) patients experienced serious COVID-19 events, including 59 hospitalizations (4 patients admitted to intensive care) and 5 deaths (fatality rate, 0.8%). Regarding non-fatal outcomes, 47.8% of patients (289/603) with COVID-19 adverse events were recovered or recovering at time of analysis; similar findings were apparent for the serious and hospitalized cohorts.
conclusionFindings of this analysis from the Merck Global Patient Safety Database suggest that, compared with available statistics for the general population and those with MS, patients receiving sc IFN β-1a for treatment of relapsing MS have relatively low rates of serious disease and/or severe outcomes with COVID-19.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.