PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Anca D Askanase
AU  - Leila Khalili
AU  - Jill P Buyon
TI  - Thoughts on COVID-19 and autoimmune diseases
AID  - 10.1136/lupus-2020-000396
DP  - 2020 Apr 01
TA  - Lupus Science & Medicine
PG  - e000396
VI  - 7
IP  - 1
4099  - http://lupus.bmj.com/content/7/1/e000396.short
4100  - http://lupus.bmj.com/content/7/1/e000396.full
SO  - Lupus Sci Med2020 Apr 01; 7
AB  - Over the 2 months since coronavirus first appeared in China, cases have emerged on every continent, and it is clear that patients with autoimmune diseases might also be affected. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious viral illness with a mortality rate approaching 2%. Here we discuss the challenges that patients with autoimmune diseases might face and the information on using immunomodulatory therapies like chloroquine, tocilizumab and baricitinib to quench the cytokine storm in patients with very severe COVID-19 pneumonia.