Research: LOONSTRA and COLLEAGUES,

Listed in Issue 281

Abstract

LOONSTRA and COLLEAGUES, 1 Department of Neurology, Amsterdam Neuroscience, MS Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; 2 Department of Neurology, Alrijne Hospital, Leiden, The Netherlands; 3 Department of Neurology, Rijnstate Hospital, Arnhem, The Netherlands review all reported COVID-19 cases in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in the Netherlands between 27 February and 9 June 2020.

Background

Here, we provide an extensive overview of all reported COVID-19 cases in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in the Netherlands between 27 February and 9 June 2020, gathered by the Dutch MS Taskforce of the Netherlands Society of Neurology.

Methodology

A total of 86 MS patients were reported, 43 of whom tested positive for COVID-19.

Results

Of 43 patients who tested positive, 22 patients were hospitalized. Three intensive care unit (ICU) admissions and four deaths were reported. Our findings show no apparent difference in disease-modifying treatment (DMT) use and COVID-19 disease course in Dutch MS patients.

Conclusion

In addition, a clear link between low lymphocyte count and severe disease was not observed.  Conflict of interest statement Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: F.C.L., J.P.M., and Z.L.E.v.K. report no disclosures. J.K. and E.H. have accepted speaker and consulting fees from Merck, Biogen, TEVA, Sanofi, Genzyme, Roche, and Novartis. Comment in Response to letter 'Lymphocyte counts and the risk of COVID-19 in people with MS'. Loonstra FC, van Kempen ZL, Strijbis EM, Killestein J, Hoitsma E, Mostert JP. Mult Scler.  27(10):1626-1627. Sep 2021. doi: 10.1177/1352458520965468. Epub Oct 16 2020.Lymphocyte counts and the risk of COVID-19 in people with MS. Evangelou N, Garjani A. Mult Scler. Sep 2021 ;27(10):1625-1626. doi: 10.1177/1352458520965460. Epub  Oct 16 2020.

References

Floor C Loonstra  1 , Elske Hoitsma  2 , Zoé LE van Kempen  1 , Joep Killestein  1 , Jop P Mostert  3. COVID-19 in multiple sclerosis: The Dutch experience. Mult Scler: 26(10):1256-1260. Sep 2020. doi: 10.1177/1352458520942198. Epub Jul 14 2020 .

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