Telerheumatology in COVID-19 era: a study from a psoriatic arthritis cohort.

We read with interest the article by Gupta et al 1 who reported the management of treatments for rheumatic diseases during COVID-19 pandemic among practitioners in India. In this study, the authors showed that about half of the physicians would reduce the use of biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) or defer specific drugs such as rituximab.1 Choices were apparently made considering possible relationships between drug mechanism of action and effect on the viral infection.1 During COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine is emerging as a possible tool for reducing the risk of contagion and viral spread,2–4 and a useful strategy for the management of chronic diseases.5 6 As of 29 April 2020, the outbreak of COVID-19 generated 201 505 confirmed cases in Italy, with 2405 confirmed cases in Naples Metropolitan area. The objective of our study was to evaluate telemedicine when offered as part of routine care for the follow-up of patients …