18th International Myeloma Workshop

Retrospective analysis of COVID-19 infection in 371 Czech multiple myeloma patients

Dr Jakub Radocha - Charles University, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic

We were, of course, interested in how the COVID-19 results of the infection in myeloma patients is because the data are largely unknown, or very largely unknown. So we were very interested in that particularly. We gathered data from 371 patients with myeloma who were infected with COVID-19 during especially the second and third wave of COVID-19 in our country, that means from roughly October 2020 until the end of May this year. So it was basically the purpose of that – to get the results of the infection and the survival of these patients.

What was the methodology that you used?

We in the Czech Republic are using our registry of monoclonal gammopathies that gathers roughly data right now from 10,000 patients with monoclonal gammopathies including myeloma patients. So that’s the major source of the information. Since, of course, this is a retrospective analysis then all the clinical and treatment-related data, as well as COVID-related data, are input in this registry. So that’s the basic method of mining the data from these patients.

What were the key findings?

Of course, the major findings and the major interest was the mortality of the infection in these patients. We found that roughly one-quarter of patients, which means 25% of patients, die at the end of the day directly to COVID or soon after this infection. So that’s quite a huge number and quite a huge amount of these patients. Another thing is that roughly half of the patients with COVID need in-patient treatments or need to be hospitalised for some time. So the utilisation of healthcare is very high in these patients. Out of those who stayed in the hospital the mortality is 50% so whoever enters the gates of the hospital has half the chance to die of COVID. So that reflects probably the seriousness of these events in these patients. These are the key issues that we found and that was what was our major interest.

What are you concluding from these findings?

We are concluding that this is a disease that needs to be prevented and that these patients are an especially vulnerable population. On the other hand, we were not able to find any major differences in the survival of patients with different kinds of treatment or different kinds of comorbidities. Only slightly older patients were more likely to die than the younger ones but the difference was just five years or so. So this was not really striking and not really surprising that the older died.

But in terms of treatment-related and disease-related parameters, the groups were about the same so it was surprising that there were no major things to observe, to find any risk factor – who is likely to die or not. So just all of them are at the same risk and all of them need to be closely prevented from this disease, not only this one of course.