Does intravesical BCG for bladder cancer protect from COVID-19?

Anastasia MacDonald; Lexia Bao; Vahid Mehrnoush; Asmaa Ismail; Livio Di Matteo; Ahmed Zakaria; Hazem Elmansy; Peter Black; Ahmed Kotb

doi:10.4081/aiua.2024.12449

Authors

Anastasia MacDonald Department of Urology, Northern Ontario School of Medicine University, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada.
Lexia Bao Department of Urology, University of British Columbia, BC, Canada.
Vahid Mehrnoush Department of Urology, Northern Ontario School of Medicine University, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1047-7713
Asmaa Ismail Department of Urology, Northern Ontario School of Medicine University, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada.
Livio Di Matteo Department of Economics, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada.
Ahmed Zakaria Department of Urology, Northern Ontario School of Medicine University, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4582-9969
Hazem Elmansy Department of Urology, Northern Ontario School of Medicine University, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada.
Peter Black Department of Urology, University of British Columbia, BC, Canada. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2919-7068
Ahmed Kotb
drahmedfali@gmail.com
Department of Urology, Northern Ontario School of Medicine University, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1484-1332

Introduction: The study aimed to correlate the history of intravesical BCG as well as infantile BCG immunization with the incidence and severity of COVID-19 infection.

Methods: Retrospective data collection of patients with high-risk non muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) from two Canadian centers. Data collection included a history of BCG instillation, infantile immunization, and the development of COVID-19 infection. Admission and/ or mortality because of COVID-19 was reported.

Results: We could include data from 348 patients: including 188 and 160 patients from Ontario and British Columbia respectively. COVID-19 affected 15% of these patients. Intravesical BCG was used in 44% of these patients. Intravesical BCG and/or infantile BCG immunization did not correlate with the incidence of COVID-19 infection.

Conclusions: Previous intravesical BCG and/ or a history of infantile BCG vaccination were not more/ less frequent in patients who had COVID-19 infection.

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MacDonald, A., Bao, L., Mehrnoush, V., Ismail, A., Di Matteo, L., Zakaria, A., Elmansy, H., Black, P., & Kotb, A. (2024). Does intravesical BCG for bladder cancer protect from COVID-19?. Archivio Italiano Di Urologia E Andrologia. https://doi.org/10.4081/aiua.2024.12449