Recovery from COVID-19 in a patient with spondyloarthritis treated with TNF-alpha inhibitor etanercept.

The novel coronavirus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2), responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)) outbreak is a major public health concern worldwide, while it is spreading globally. It is not yet known whether immunomodulatory treatments used in patients with autoimmune and rheumatic diseases are associated with better or poorer outcomes over the course of COVID-19. We report the case of a recovery from COVID-19 in a 60-year-old immunocompromised man, treated with tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) inhibitor (the soluble TNF receptor: etanercept 50 mg, subcutaneous, weekly) and methotrexate (20 mg subcutaneous, weekly), for spondyloarthritis. One week after the categorisation of eastern France as a new cluster of COVID-19 and 2 days after the weekly subcutaneous injection of 50 mg etanercept, the patient developed fever (up to 39°C), cough, myalgias and diarrhoeas. Five days after the onset of symptoms, the patient was referred to the local emergency department where the SARS-CoV2 was detected by real-time reverse transcription (RT)-PCR on a nasopharyngeal swab. There was no sign of respiratory …