Exclusive: ACR Convergence 2024| Focus Rheums

An official publication of the ACR and the ARP serving rheumatologists and rheumatology professionals

Should Biologic Therapy in Dermatology Be Interrupted During the Pandemic?

Reuters Staff  |  

“Currently there is no data describing the benefits or risks of stopping immunomodulators/immunosuppressants during the COVID-19 outbreak,” they point out. “However, each medication’s mechanism of action, administration method/frequency, and pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics are important to consider. Non-biologic medications including small molecule inhibitors and immunosuppressants are typically easier to stop and re-start within days to weeks due to shorter half-life,” they write.

They conclude, “Shared decision-making is needed when deciding on a treatment plan including immunomodulators/immunosuppressants during the COVID-19 outbreak. Patients with existing comorbidities may require more conservative measures. Physicians should continue to consult with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Information for Healthcare Providers, which is updated daily.”

ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

References

  1. Price KN, Frew JW, Hsiao JL, et al. COVID-19 and immunomodulator/immunosuppressant use in dermatology. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2020 Mar 26. [Epub ahead of print]
  2. Lebwohl M, Rivera-Oyola R, Murrell DF. Should biologics for psoriasis be interrupted in the era of COVID-19? J Am Acad Dermatol. 2020 Mar 18. [Epub ahead of print]

Related Articles

    Enemy at the Gates: The Emerging Threat of COVID-19

    On Dec. 30, 2019, an ophthalmologist named Li Wenliang notified his colleagues about an illness that was reminiscent of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in a city in the Hubei province of China called Wuhan. As an ophthalmologist, this was not directly relevant to his practice; he merely wanted to warn colleagues that they might…

    Vax Hesitancy? Myths & Facts for Patients

    Although more than 189,300,000 eligible Americans are fully vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 as of Oct. 18, 2021, vaccine hesitancy persists.1 The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), citing data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey collected between May 26 and June 7, 2021, reports that in some U.S. counties—particularly in the Southeast…

    MicroOne / shutterstock.com

    Rheumatology Drugs at a Glance, Part 2: Psoriasis

    Over the past few years, bio­similars and other new drugs have been introduced to treat rheumatic illnesses. Some of the conditions we treat have numerous drug option; others have few or only off-label options. This series, “Rheumatology Drugs at a Glance,” provides streamlined information on the administration of biologic, biosimilar and other medications used to…