Continue basic therapy during corona pandemic?

In general, for SLE, it is recommended to continue therapies with drugs that suppress the immune system despite the coronavirus pandemic. Even in immunocompromised patients, the majority of infections appear to be mild.

In individual cases, the attending physician may assess the situation differently and discontinue immunosuppressive drugs for a while as a precaution. However, this should not be decided by the patient on his own, but exclusively in consultation with the attending physician. The Clinical Affairs Committee issued the following statement, “As it currently stands, there is no reason for patients to interrupt their baseline therapy unless there is a suspicion of active coronavirus infection (e.g., cough, dyspnea, and/or fever ≥38ºC).” (As of 6/23/2020).

Further guidance for disease management of lupus sufferers is available at the following home page:
https://lupus-suisse.ch/Deutsch/Lupus-Coronavirus

SARS-CoV-2: influenza vaccination recommended for immunocompromised individuals
“Immunocompromised patients or patients on basic antirheumatic therapies are strongly encouraged to receive influenza vaccination. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, influenza vaccination is especially important because the risks of concurrent infection with influenza and COVID-19 are still unknown.” (As of August 25, 2020)

www.rheuma-net.ch/de/aktuelles/200-informationen-zum-coronavirus-covid-19-sars-cov-2

GP PRACTICE 2020; 15(9): 33