The evolving landscape of COVID-19 and post-COVID condition in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: A study by ERIC, the European research initiative on CLL

• Authors: VISENTIN Andrea; CHATZIKONSTANTINOU Thomas; SCARFO Lydia; KAPETANAKIS Anargyros; DEMOSTHENOUS Christos; KARAKATSOULIS Georgios; MINGA Eva; CHAMOU Dimitra; ALLSUP David; CABRERO Alejandro Alonso; ANDRES Martin; ANTIC Darko; BAILE Mónica; BALIAKAS Panagiotis; BESIKLI-DIMOU Sotiria; BRON Dominique; CHATZILEONTIADOU Sofia; CORDOBA Raul; JUAN-GONZALO Correa; CUÉLLAR-GARCÍA Carolina; PAOLI Lorenzo De; PAOLIS Maria Rosaria De; DELGADO Julio; DIMOU Maria; DONALDSON David; CATHERWOOD Mark; DOUBEK Michael; EFSTATHOPOULOU Maria; EICHHORST Barbara; ELASHWAH Salma; ENRICO Alicia; ESPINET Blanca; FARINA Lucia; FERRARI Angela; FOGLIETTA Myriam; FREDERIKSEN Henrik; FÜRSTENAU Moritz; GARCÍA-MARCO José A; GARCÍA-SERRA Rocío; COLLADO Rosa; GENTILE Massimo; GIMENO Eva; GLENTHOJ Andreas; SILVA Maria Gomes da; HAKOBYAN Yervand K; HERISHANU Yair; HERNÁNDEZ-RIVAS José Ángel; HEROLD Tobias; INNOCENTI Idanna; ITCHAKI Gilad; JAKSIC Ozren; JANSSENS Ann; KALASHNIKOVA ?lga B; KALICIŃSKA Elżbieta; KATER Arnon P; KERSTING Sabina; LABRADOR Jorge; LAD Deepesh; LAURENTI Luca; MARK-DAVID Levin; LISTA Enrico; LOPEZ-GARCIA Alberto; MALERBA Lara; MARASCA Roberto; MARCHETTI Monia; MARQUET Juan; MATTSSON Mattias; MAURO Francesca R; MORAWSKA Marta; MOTTA Marina; MUNIR Talha; MURRU Roberta; NIEMANN Carsten U; RODRIGUES Raquel Nunes; OLIVIERI Jacopo; ORSUCCI Lorella; PAPAIOANNOU Maria; PAVLOVSKY Miguel Arturo; PISKUNOVA Inga; POPOV Viola Maria; QUAGLIA Francesca Maria; QUARESMINI Giulia; QVIST Kristian; RIGOLIN Gian Matteo; RUCHLEMER Rosa; ŠIMKOVIČ Martin; ŠPAČEK Martin; SPORTOLETTI Paolo; STANCA Oana; TADMOR Tamar; CAPASSO Antonella; POETA Giovanni Del; GUTWEIN Odit; KARLSSON Linda Katharina; MILOSEVIC Ivana; MIRÁS Fatima; REDA Gianluigi; SAGHUMYAN Gevorg; SHRESTHA Amit; RAA Doreen Te; TONINO Sanne H; SPEK Ellen Van Der; GELDER Michel van; KAMPEN Roel van; WASIK-SZCZEPANEK Ewa; WRÓBEL Tomasz; SEGUNDO Lucrecia Yánez San; YASSIN Mohamed; POCALI Barbara; VANDENBERGHE Elisabeth; IYENGAR Sunil; VARETTONI Marzia; VITALE Candida; COSCIA Marta; RAMBALDI Alessandro; MONTSERRAT Emili; CUNEO Antonio; STAVROYIANNI Niki; TRENTIN Livio; STAMATOPOULOS Kostas; GHIA Paolo
• Year of publication: 2023
• Type: Article in Periodical
• Magazine / Source: American Journal of Hematology
• MU Faculty or unit: Faculty of Medicine
• Web: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajh.27093
• Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajh.27093
• Keywords: COVID-19; post-COVID condition; chronic lymphocytic leukemia
• Description: In this retrospective international multicenter study, we describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and related disorders (small lymphocytic lymphoma and high-count monoclonal B lymphocytosis) infected by SARS-CoV-2, including the development of post-COVID condition. Data from 1540 patients with CLL infected by SARS-CoV-2 from January 2020 to May 2022 were included in the analysis and assigned to four phases based on cases disposition and SARS-CoV-2 variants emergence. Post-COVID condition was defined according to the WHO criteria. Patients infected during the most recent phases of the pandemic, though carrying a higher comorbidity burden, were less often hospitalized, rarely needed intensive care unit admission, or died compared to patients infected during the initial phases. The 4-month overall survival (OS) improved through the phases, from 68% to 83%, p = .0015. Age, comorbidity, CLL-directed treatment, but not vaccination status, emerged as risk factors for mortality. Among survivors, 6.65% patients had a reinfection, usually milder than the initial one, and 16.5% developed post-COVID condition. The latter was characterized by fatigue, dyspnea, lasting cough, and impaired concentration. Infection severity was the only risk factor for developing post-COVID. The median time to resolution of the post-COVID condition was 4.7 months. OS in patients with CLL improved during the different phases of the pandemic, likely due to the improvement of prophylactic and therapeutic measures against SARS-CoV-2 as well as the emergence of milder variants. However, mortality remained relevant and a significant number of patients developed post-COVID conditions, warranting further investigations.