CreakyJoints discusses what immunocompromised patients should know after recovering from COVID-19 and includes guidance from Medha Barbhaiya, MD, MPH, rheumatologist at HSS.

According to Dr. Barbhaiya, “Our prior work, as well as others, have shown that long COVID is potentially a problem in rheumatology patients. However, the underlying causes and risks of long COVID in patients with rheumatic diseases who are immunocompromised, compared to the general population, still remain to be determined.”

She continued, “There is limited data available on long COVID in patients with rheumatic diseases, which can be a diagnostic challenge in this patient population due to the overlapping features with rheumatic diseases,”

“More longitudinal studies are needed to better understand long COVID in rheumatic disease patients and how symptoms and outcomes differ compared to the general population,” she added.

“If any rheumatology medications were paused or reduced during COVID-19 infection, patients should speak with their rheumatologist about when to restart these medications,” underscored Dr. Barbhaiya. 

Read the full article at Creakyjoints.org.