Pooled data from three international COVID-19 registries support the use of TNF inhibitor monotherapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and other immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.

But, compared to TNF inhibitor monotherapy, some other therapies — including methotrexate monotherapy, Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors or azathioprine/6-mercaptopurine — worsen the odds of severe COVID-19 in such patients, the investigators report.  

US researchers evaluated data on more than 6000 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 obtained from registries for patients with prior diagnoses of inflammatory arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease or psoriasis.

Rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease were the predominant diagnoses, followed by ulcerative colitis, spondyloarthritis, psoriasis and unspecified inflammatory bowel disease.