Appearance of COVID-19 Pandemic in a Rheumatology Clinic in Turkey

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a disease that may cause acute respiratory illnesses in humans with high contagiousness. Having originated in Wuhan city of China in December 2019 and being a member of coronaviridae family, the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) has been defined as one of the causes of pneumonia (1). According to the data from China, where the disease was first seen, 80% of the people who contract the virus shake it off with minor cold-like symptoms. On the other hand, 20% of the patients require hospitalization, while 5-15% of the patients require intensive care (2). The exact number of patients infected remains unknown; however, the mortality rate is estimated at approximately 1-4% (3). The most common causes of mortality in these patients were found to be interstitial pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) induced by diffuse alveolar damage. A severe form of the disease usually occurs in immunosuppressed patients, as well as elderly patients (>60 years of age) and patients with comorbidities (4, 5).