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Asthma patients who test positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVD-19), may not have an increased risk of hospitalization or results. severe symptoms associated with COVID-19 compared to SARS-CoV-2 positive patients without asthma, according to study results published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.
The retrospective study was an analysis of electronic medical record data from 727 patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2. Of these patients, a total of 105 (14.4%) patients had a diagnosis of asthma, based on International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes and confirmed by medical history by a board certified allergist.
A multivariate logistic regression model adjusted for age, body mass index (BMI), race, and number of comorbidities was used to examine the association between asthma and hospitalization. In addition, an adjusted proportional probability model was used to examine the association between asthma and severity of COVID-19-related outcomes. A Fisher’s exact test was used to assess the association between asthma and the need for intubation.
Approximately 37.6% (n = 274) of the patients included in the study were admitted to the hospital but did not require intensive care unit (ICU) care. 9.3% (n = 68) of the patients who required ICU care were discharged, while 8.3% (n = 61) died.
In patients with asthma, a similar proportion of patients received outpatient and hospital care (14.6% vs 14.2%, respectively). Although the adjusted odds of hospitalization were 1.4 times higher in patients with asthma than in those without asthma, the difference was not statistically insignificant (95% CI, 0.82-2.4; P = .22). The adjusted odds of death versus ICU hospitalization or admission were 1.3 times higher for patients with asthma, but this difference was also not statistically significant (95% CI, 0.6-2.8; P = .48).
Factors associated with increased odds of hospitalization included age, number of comorbidities, and race (non-white vs. white, P = .01). The chances of intubation were significantly higher in patients with asthma than without asthma (odds ratio [OR], 2 times; 95% CI, 1-4 times; P = .047). However, there were no differences between the 2 groups in terms of duration of intubation (P = .44) or hospitalization (P = .44).
Limitations of the study included its single-center design, as well as its retrospective nature, which the researchers said impeded its ability to “establish causal associations,” but which the findings add “to the growing literature that asthma patients may not have. increased risk of severe outcomes with COVID-19. ”
Reference
Rosenthal JA, Awan SF, Fintzi J, Keswani A, Ein D. Asthma is associated with an increased risk of intubation but not with hospitalization or death in COVID-19. Published online October 12, 2020. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol.doi: 10.1016 / j.anai.2020.10.002
