Risk and management of patients with mastocytosis and MCAS in the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic: Expert opinions
Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) pandemic has massively distorted our health care systems and caused catastrophic consequences in our affected communities. The number of victims continues to increase, and patients at risk can only be protected to a degree, because the virulent state may be asymptomatic. Risk factors concerning COVID-19-induced morbidity and mortality include advanced age, an impaired immune system, cardiovascular or pulmonary diseases, obesity, diabetes mellitus, and cancer treated with chemotherapy. Here, we discuss the risk and impact of COVID-19 in patients with mastocytosis and mast cell activation syndromes. Because no published data are yet available, expert opinions are, by necessity, based on case experience and reports from patients. Although the overall risk to acquire the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 may not be elevated in mast cell disease, certain conditions may increase the risk of infected patients to develop severe COVID-19. These factors include certain comorbidities, mast cell activation-related events affecting the cardiovascular or bronchopulmonary system, and chemotherapy or immunosuppressive drugs. Therefore, such treatments should be carefully evaluated on a case-by-case basis during a COVID-19 infection. In contrast, other therapies, such as anti-mediator-type drugs, venom immunotherapy, or vitamin D, should be continued. Overall, patients with mast cell disorders should follow the general and local guidelines in the COVID-19 pandemic and advice from their medical provider.
Authors: Peter Valent, Cem Akin, Patrizia Bonadonna, Knut Brockow, Marek Niedoszytko, Boguslaw Nedoszytko, Joseph H. Butterfield, Ivan Alvarez-Twose, Karl Sotlar, Juliana Schwaab, Mohamad Jawhar, Andreas Reiter, Mariana Castells, Wolfgang R. Sperr, Hanneke C. Kluin-Nelemans, Olivier Hermine, Jason Gotlib, Roberta Zanotti, Sigurd Broesby-Olsen, Hans-Peter Horny, Massimo Triggiani, Frank Siebenhaar, Alberto Orfao, Dean D. Metcalfe, Michel Arock, Karin Hartmann
Institutions: Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Hematology and Oncology, Medical University of Vienna, University of Michigan, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata Verona, Technical University of Munich, Gdańsk Medical University, Mayo Clinic, Hospital Virgen del Valle, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer, Paracelsus Medical University, University Medical Centre Mannheim, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard University, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Université Paris Cité, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Institut des Maladies Génétiques Imagine, Université Paris Descartes, Stanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University, University of Verona, Odense University Hospital, Pathologisches Institut, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, University of Salerno, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Universidad de Salamanca, Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca, Centro de Investigación del Cáncer, Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular del Cáncer de Salamanca, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie, University of Basel
Language: English
Topic: Mast cells and histamine
Subfield: Immunology
Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,550
Funders: Pfizer, Novartis, Sanofi, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Celgene, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Incyte, Austrian Science Fund, Allergopharma, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NHLBI Division of Intramural Research
OpenAlex ID: W3034478528