Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a disease of the elderly, characterized by immunodeficiency. Hence, patients with CLL might be considered more susceptible to severe complications from COVID-19. We undertook this retrospective international multicenter study to characterize the course of COVID-19 in patients with CLL and identify potential predictors of outcome. Of 190 patients with CLL and confirmed COVID-19 diagnosed between 28/03/2020 and 22/05/2020, 151 (79%) presented with severe COVID-19 (need of oxygen and/or intensive care admission). Severe COVID-19 was associated with more advanced age (≥65 years) (odds ratio 3.72 [95% CI 1.79–7.71]). Only 60 patients (39.7%) with severe COVID-19 were receiving or had recent (≤12 months) treatment for CLL at the time of COVID-19 versus 30/39 (76.9%) patients with mild disease. Hospitalization rate for severe COVID-19 was lower (p < 0.05) for patients on ibrutinib versus those on other regimens or off treatment. Of 151 patients with severe disease, 55 (36.4%) succumbed versus only 1/38 (2.6%) with mild disease; age and comorbidities did not impact on mortality. In CLL, (1) COVID-19 severity increases with age; (2) antileukemic treatment (particularly BTK inhibitors) appears to exert a protective effect; (3) age and comorbidities did not impact on mortality, alluding to a relevant role of CLL and immunodeficiency.
Scarfo, L., Chatzikonstantinou, T., Rigolin, G. M., Quaresmini, G., Motta, M., Vitale, C., Garcia-Marco, J. A., Hernandez-Rivas, J. A., Miras, F., Baile, M., Marquet, J., Niemann, C. U., Reda, G., Munir, T., Gimeno, E., Marchetti, M., Quaglia, F. M., Varettoni, M., Delgado, J., Iyengar, S., Janssens, A., Marasca, R., Ferrari, A., Cuellar-Garcia, C., Itchaki, G., Spacek, M., De Paoli, L., Laurenti, L., Levin, M. -., Lista, E., Mauro, F. R., Simkovic, M., Van Der Spek, E., Vandenberghe, E., Trentin, L., Wasik-Szczepanek, E., Ruchlemer, R., Bron, D., De Paolis, M. R., Del Poeta, G., Farina, L., Foglietta, M., Gentile, M., Herishanu, Y., Herold, T., Jaksic, O., Kater, A. P., Kersting, S., Malerba, L., Orsucci, L., Popov, V. M., Sportoletti, P., Yassin, M., Pocali, B., Barna, G., Chiarenza, A., Dos Santos, G., Nikitin, E., Andres, M., Dimou, M., Doubek, M., Enrico, A., Hakobyan, Y., Kalashnikova, O., Ortiz Pareja, M., Papaioannou, M., Rossi, D., Shah, N., Shrestha, A., Stanca, O., Stavroyianni, N., Strugov, V., Tam, C., Zdrenghea, M., Coscia, M., Stamatopoulos, K., Rossi, G., Rambaldi, A., Montserrat, E., Foa, R., Cuneo, A., Ghia, P., COVID-19 severity and mortality in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: a joint study by ERIC, the European Research Initiative on CLL, and CLL Campus, <<LEUKEMIA>>, 2020; 34 (9): 2354-2363. [doi:10.1038/s41375-020-0959-x] [http://hdl.handle.net/10807/184028]
COVID-19 severity and mortality in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: a joint study by ERIC, the European Research Initiative on CLL, and CLL Campus
Laurenti, Luca;Gentile, Marino;Rossi, Dario;Foa, Robin;
2020
Abstract
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a disease of the elderly, characterized by immunodeficiency. Hence, patients with CLL might be considered more susceptible to severe complications from COVID-19. We undertook this retrospective international multicenter study to characterize the course of COVID-19 in patients with CLL and identify potential predictors of outcome. Of 190 patients with CLL and confirmed COVID-19 diagnosed between 28/03/2020 and 22/05/2020, 151 (79%) presented with severe COVID-19 (need of oxygen and/or intensive care admission). Severe COVID-19 was associated with more advanced age (≥65 years) (odds ratio 3.72 [95% CI 1.79–7.71]). Only 60 patients (39.7%) with severe COVID-19 were receiving or had recent (≤12 months) treatment for CLL at the time of COVID-19 versus 30/39 (76.9%) patients with mild disease. Hospitalization rate for severe COVID-19 was lower (p < 0.05) for patients on ibrutinib versus those on other regimens or off treatment. Of 151 patients with severe disease, 55 (36.4%) succumbed versus only 1/38 (2.6%) with mild disease; age and comorbidities did not impact on mortality. In CLL, (1) COVID-19 severity increases with age; (2) antileukemic treatment (particularly BTK inhibitors) appears to exert a protective effect; (3) age and comorbidities did not impact on mortality, alluding to a relevant role of CLL and immunodeficiency.
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