evaluation of the opinion of patients with multiple sclerosis on the outcomes of catching covid-19 and its effects on the ms symptoms

Introduction: to assess the opinion of patients with multiple sclerosis (ms) on the outcomes of covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) and its effects on ms symptoms if they catch coronavirus. a cross-sectional study was performed. methods: considering the study objectives, a questionnaire was designed and prepared as a google form for ms patients for one week. results: a total of 148 ms patients with an average age of 35.73 years completed the questionnaire. the most important concern of the participants was “a high prevalence of covid-19” following by the “ms symptoms worsening”. many participants (35%) believed that, if they catch covid-19 they will be cured. however, the treatment will take more time for them in comparison with the general population. about 39.8% of the patients stated that covid-19 infection does not affect the ms symptom, but others noted that, it can cause relapse (30.8%) or worsen ms symptoms (29.3%). conclusion: this study revealed that ms patients are more anxious about the effects of covid-19 on their underlying disease rather than the infection itself.