RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Incidence and Impact of COVID-19 in MS JF Neurology - Neuroimmunology Neuroinflammation JO Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflamm FD Lippincott Williams & Wilkins SP e954 DO 10.1212/NXI.0000000000000954 VO 8 IS 2 A1 Maria Sepúlveda A1 Sara Llufriu A1 Eugenia Martínez-Hernández A1 Martí Català A1 Montse Artola A1 Ana Hernando A1 Carmen Montejo A1 Irene Pulido-Valdeolivas A1 Eloy Martínez-Heras A1 Mar Guasp A1 Elisabeth Solana A1 Laura Llansó A1 Domingo Escudero A1 Marta Aldea A1 Clara Prats A1 Francesc Graus A1 Yolanda Blanco A1 Albert Saiz YR 2021 UL http://nn.neurology.org/content/8/2/e954.abstract AB Objective To investigate the incidence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a single-center cohort of patients with MS and to explore the contribution of their comorbidities and therapies to the outcome.Methods A cross-sectional mixed-method study was conducted involving an email-based, self-administered questionnaire sent on May 21, 2020, to 586 patients with MS followed at the MS Unit of Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, along with telephone interview, and review of electronic medical records until June 18, 2020. The cumulative incidence of confirmed COVID-19 (positive PCR or antibody test) and all COVID-19 cases (confirmed and suspected) from the start of the pandemic was compared with the population estimates for Barcelona.Results A total of 407 patients (69.5%) completed the survey. Most of the responders (67%) were female. The responders had a median age of 48 years (range 19–86), relapsing-remitting disease (84%), at least 1 comorbidity (45%), and were on disease-modifying therapy (DMT; 74.7%). COVID-19 was confirmed in 5 patients (1.2%) and suspected in 46 (11.3%). The cumulative incidence of confirmed COVID-19 cases was similar to that of the general population but was almost 2-fold higher when all cases were considered (p < 0.001). Six patients (11.7%) were hospitalized, of which 5 had good recovery and 1 died. Hospitalized patients were more frequently male, had diabetes and had progressive forms of MS (p < 0.05). DMT was not associated with the risk of infection or the outcome.Conclusions In the studied MS cohort, the incidence of COVID-19 was higher than that of the general population; however, most patients did not require hospitalization and had a good outcome despite the frequent presence of comorbidities and treatment with DMT.DMT=disease-modifying therapy; EDSS=Expanded Disability Severity Scale; ICU=intensive care unit; SARS-CoV-2=severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; WHO=World Health Organization