TNF inhibitors may help COVID patients with IMIDsCOVID-19 patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) may benefit from tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors, according to a study published yesterday in JAMA Network Open.
TNF inhibitors are already first- or second-line treatments for IMIDs, but debate has centered on whether they would help mitigate COVID-19 severity because of their ability to inhibit cytokines or if they would hurt it due to associated increased infection vulnerability.The researchers pooled three international COVID-19 registries (GRA, SECURE-IBD, and PsoProtect) from Mar 12, 2020, to Feb 1, 2021, and looked at 6,077 adults with rheumatic diseases, inflammatory bowel disease, or psoriasis.