Asthmatic patients and COVID‐19: Different disease course?

• Published in: Allergy 2021-03, Vol.76 (3), p.963-965
• Main Authors: Alberca, Ricardo Wesley, Yendo, Tatiana, Aoki, Valéria, Sato, Maria Notomi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Asthma; Asthma - diagnosis; Asthma - epidemiology; Correspondence; COVID-19; Disease Progression; Humans; Risk Factors; SARS-CoV-2; systemic arterial hypertension
• ISSN: 0105-4538; 1398-9995
• DOI: 10.1111/all.14601

COVID‐19 is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) and the number of SARS‐CoV‐2–infected patients with asthma is consistent with the asthma incidence in the population despite the virus outbreak.2 There are few reports of COVID‐19 in asthmatic patients. [...]we aimed to investigate the disease course of COVID‐19 in asthmatic patients from hospitalization until COVID‐19 resolution. Clinical characteristics and fate of COVID‐19 patients included in the study Group Patient Age (y) Sex SAH Diabetes Smoking Secondary bacterial infection Death Hospitalization time (d) Moderate #1 63 Male No No No No No 6 #2 67 Male No No No No No 13 #3 51 Female No No No No No 16 Severe #1 50 Female No No No No No 20 #2 61 Male No No No No No 20 #3 43 Male No No No No No 18 #4 65 Male No No No No No 18 Asthma + SAH #1 43 Male Yes No No No No 14 #2 61 Female Yes No No No No 8 #3 64 Male Yes No No No No 18 #4 41 Male Yes No No No No 5 #5 61 Female Yes No No No No 8 SAH #1 74 Male Yes No No No No 13 #2 45 Female Yes No No No No 15 #3 47 Male Yes No No No No 13 #4 59 Male Yes No No No No 44 #5 67 Female Yes No No No No 11 #6 74 Male Yes No No No No 19 #7 52 Male Yes No No No No 19 #8 72 Female Yes No No No No 18 #9 69 Female Yes No No No No 18 #10 53 Male Yes No No No No 41 Abbreviations: Moderate, nonasthmatic and non‐SAH patients in the general ward with moderate COVID‐19; Severe, nonasthmatic and non‐SAH patients in the intensive care unit with severe COVID‐19; SAH, SAH patients in the intensive care unit; asthma + SAH, asthmatic and SAH patients in the intensive care unit. Inhaled corticosteroid (IC) and anti‐asthma (AA) drugs could act as possible modulators of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection which could reduce the incidence of COVID‐19 in asthma patients but in our cohort asthma patients did not regularly use IC or AA drugs.