Outcomes and Risk Factors Associated with COVID-19 and Multiple Sclerosis Published

An original investigation of the outcomes and risk factors associated with COVID-19 from a cross-section of multiple sclerosis patients from the COViMS North American registry was published online on March 19th in JAMA Neurology. Led by Amber Salter, PhD, this research of outcomes experienced by 1,626 people in the COViMS registry between April and December 2020 found these conclusions:

-Ambulation disability, older age, and Black race are associated with worse COVID-19 clinical course in a North American MS population.

-Rituximab use, and recent treatment with corticosteroids, as well as risk factors

known in the general population such as obesity and cardiovascular comorbidities were associated with worse COVID-19 clinical severity.

Knowledge of these risk factors may improve the management of patients with MS and COVID-19 by helping clinicians identify patients requiring more intense monitoring or COVID-19 treatment.

The COViMS Registry is a joint effort of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC), the National MS Society and the MS Society of Canada.It was created early in the pandemic for health care professionals to report cases of COVID-19 infection in people with MS and related conditions. Its goal is to understand how people with MS fare on exposure to the virus and to identify factors that might be associated with COVID-19 outcomes.

Read “Outcomes and Risk Factors Associated with SARS-COV-2 Infection in a North American Registry of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis,” by Amber Salter, PhD, Robert J. Fox, MD, Scott D. Newsome, DO, June Halper, MSCN, David K. B. Li, MD, Pamela Kanellis, PhD, Kathleen Costello, MSCN, Bruce Bebo, PhD, Kottil Rammohan, MD, Gary R. Cutter, PhD, and Anne H. Cross, MD, published online March 19, 2021 in JAMA Neurology here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/fullarticle/2777735

To obtain additional information about COViMS or to report a case of COVID-19, please visit www.covims.org.