Key clinical point: COVID-19 vaccination was not associated with the worsening of disease activity in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) who were treated with targeted therapies; however, COVID-19 vaccination may worsen disease activity in patients treated with interleukin-12/23 inhibitors (IL-12/23-i).
Major finding: The flare rate was not significantly different in the 6 months post-vaccination vs the pre-vaccination period (P = .797), with no significant change in disease activity score in 28 joints before or after vaccination in the overall population. However, COVID-19 vaccination significantly worsened disease activity in patients treated with IL-12/23-i vs tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (P = .019).
Study details: The data come from a prospective observational study including 1765 patients total with PsA (n = 587) or rheumatoid arthritis (n = 1178) treated with targeted therapies who were vaccinated for COVID-19 with any of the available vaccines.
Disclosures: This study was funded by Bristol-Myers Squibb, Galapagos Biopharma Spain SLU, and Roche Farma. Two authors reported ties with various sources, including Galapagos or Roche.
Source: Álvaro-Gracia JM et al. Effects of COVID-19 vaccination on disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis on targeted therapy in the COVIDSER study. RMD Open. 2023;9(1):e002936 (Mar 16). Doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2022-002936