Psoriatic Arthritis And Covid-19 - Patient Perspectives In A Large Psoriatic Arthritis Cohort.

Abstract

To estimate the prevalence of COVID-19 infection among patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), understand patients' perspectives regarding their risk of COVID-19 infection, and evaluate the standard of virtual care offered during the early phases of the pandemic. An online survey was conducted between June and September 2021 in PsA patients who had consented to email contact. The survey was completed by 152/193 (79%) patients who had consented to the study. There were 86 (57%) men and 66 women, mean age 58 years, mean disease duration 19 years. During the pandemic, the mean patient-reported symptom severity was 4.1, 3.2, and 3.7 for joint, skin, and overall symptom severity, respectively. 74% of respondents would accept the impact of their PsA over the past month for the next few months. Of 79 patients who were tested for SARS-COV-2, 4 tested positive. All 4 were admitted to hospital, 2 required oxygen. 151 patients (99%) had received at least one vaccine dose. 59 (39%) participants believed their PsA medications increased their COVID-19 infection risk. Of the 130 patients who had a telemedicine assessment, 83% were happy with their virtual consultations. Most were happy to continue with virtual consultations until the pandemic resolved. The average satisfaction level regarding pandemic care was 7.9 on a sliding 10-point scale. COVID-19 prevalence was low among our patients. Patients were satisfied with their care during the pandemic. Most patients would happily continue with virtual care for the duration of the pandemic.