ArticleSeminars in arthritis and rheumatism2023
Rituximab is associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A retrospective, nationally sampled cohort study from the U.S. National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C).
Article in Seminars in arthritis and rheumatism, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
26 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 44 citations in OpenAlex.
- Rheumatoid arthritis and COVID-19 outcomes: a systematic review and Meta-analysis.BMC rheumatology · 2024Pooled it
- Rheumatoid Arthritis and COVID-19 at the Intersection of Immunology and Infectious Diseases: A Related PRISMA Systematic Literature Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Pooled it
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of anti-CD20 treatments in patients with COVID-19: an assessment of severe illness and mortality outcomes.Inflammopharmacology · 2023Pooled it
- Advances in the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus: Biologicals, small-molecular agents, and cell-depleting therapies coming to the clinic.Journal of internal medicine · 2026Review
- Autoimmune diseases in the era of COVID-19: emerging mechanisms, clinical implications, vaccine considerations, and future directions.The Korean journal of internal medicine · 2026Review
- Association of Vaccination With COVID Outcomes in Pregnant People With Autoimmune Diseases: A Retrospective National Cohort Analysis.Arthritis care & research · 2026Article
- Targeting the Neonatal Fc Receptor in Autoimmune Diseases: Pipeline and Progress.BioDrugs : clinical immunotherapeutics, biopharmaceuticals and gene therapy · 2025Review
- Detection of substantial numbers of latent tuberculosis and positive hepatitis B serology results in rheumatology patients preparing to receive intensified immunosuppressive therapy in a low-prevalence country: why screening still matters.Clinical rheumatology · 2025Article
- Review
- Observational
- Long-Term Mortality Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Rural Versus Urban Dwellers With Autoimmune or Inflammatory Rheumatic Disease: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis From the National COVID Cohort Collaborative.Arthritis care & research · 2025Article
- Association between immunosuppressive medications and COVID-19 hospitalisation and death: a retrospective cohort study.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Long-Term Outcomes of COVID-19 and Risk Factors for Prolonged or Persistent COVID-19 in Lymphoma Patients: A Multicenter, Retrospective Cohort Study.Journal of Korean medical science · 2024Article
- Article
- Article
- Unraveling the Impact of COVID-19 on Rheumatoid Arthritis: Insights from Two Romanian Hospitals-Preliminary Results.Biomedicines · 2024Article
- COVID-19 Vaccination Before Initiating Rituximab Treatment Induces Strong Serological Response in Autoimmune Rheumatic Disease, Reducing Post-Pandemic Concerns About the Impact of Rituximab.ACR open rheumatology · 2024Article
- Outcomes of COVID-19 Omicron variant in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a nationwide Greek cohort study.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2024Article
- Effects of antineoplastic and immunomodulating agents on postvaccination SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections, antibody response, and serological cytokine profile.Journal for immunotherapy of cancer · 2024Observational
- Immunosuppressive therapy and COVID-19 infection in patients with NMOSD.Immunity, inflammation and disease · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 7 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo assess whether rituximab (RTX) is associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
methodsWe used the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C), the largest US cohort of COVID-19 cases and controls, to identify patients with RA (International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 code, M05.X or M06.X). Key outcomes were COVID-19-related hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, 30-day mortality, and World Health Organization (WHO) classification for COVID-19 severity. We used multivariable logistic regression models to assess the association between RTX use and the odds of COVID-19 outcomes compared with the use of conventional synthetic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (csDMARDs), adjusting for demographics, medical comorbidities, smoking status, body mass index, US region and COVID-19 treatments.
resultsA total of 69,549 patients met our eligibility criteria of which 22,956 received a COVID-19 positive diagnosis between 1/1/2020 and 9/16/2021. Median (IQR) age of the cohort was 63 (52-72) years, 76% of the cohort was female, 68% was non-Hispanic/Latinx White, and 73% was non-smokers. Prior to their first COVID-19 diagnosis, 364 patients were exposed to RTX. Compared to the use of csDMARDs, RTX use was associated with an increased odds of COVID-19-related hospitalization (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.1, 95% confidence interval 1.5-3.0), ICU admission (aOR 5.2, 1.8-15.4) and invasive ventilation (aOR 2.7, 1.4-5.5). Results were confirmed in multiple sensitivity analyses.
conclusionOur findings can guide patients, providers, and policymakers regarding the increased risks associated with RTX use during the COVID-19 pandemic. These results can help risk stratification and prognosis-assessment.
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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.