A rare case of autoimmune disease getting reactivated after Covid-19

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Pune, 5 February 2021: Experts have found that in some of the cases, it is seen that Covid-19 is reactivating auto-immune disorders in some of the patients. Doctors advise that Covid -19 patients should take all the necessary precautions even post their discharge from the hospital. They also advised that any small illness should be consulted with the expert immediately to avoid complications.
A 52-year-old woman came to the Ruby Hall Clinic in Pune with Covid -19 positive pneumonia. But she was relatively stable. She did not require oxygen treatment. She was given the basic treatment that is given to coronavirus patients.
However, she came back to the hospital after two weeks of her discharge with increased breathlessness. Dr. Sneha Tirpude, the pulmonologist from Ruby Hall Clinic, who was treating her, said, “This time we suspected if there is any common complication because of Covid -19. Common complications that we were searching for were pulmonary thromboembolism or pneumothorax or we were looking for secondary bacterial pneumonia or reinfection with Covid -19. Subsequently, she was negative for all of that.”
She added, “We again probed and saw her CT scan. We asked the patient for any previous history of joint pain. She said she was suffering from joint pain and stiffness in the past. She also mentioned that she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in the past. However, she was not requiring much medicine for it in recent times. And now she was requiring oxygen support. We then diagnosed her with rheumatoid arthritis-related interstitial lung disease The Rheumatologist affirmed the diagnosis and a joint treatment plan was made The treatment was altogether different from covid and she required steroids and other immunosuppressants, and a lot of counselling and rehabilitation measures. We were able to send her home in two weeks without oxygen. She followed up after a month still doing fine on treatment”
Experts mentioned that they are seeing such cases where autoimmune diseases are getting reactivated in Covid -19 patients. “The flaring up of the infection is what we see happening because of viral infection in the body. Before Covid-19, we have seen that viral infections are known to trigger underlying or nascent diseases. People should be aware and if there is anything they should report it immediately to the doctor. Delaying it till the end stage becomes difficult to ensure a healthy recovery,” added Dr. Tirpude