Is asthma a risk factor for severe outcomes in COVID 19?

Abstract

<b>Introduction:</b> Asthmatic people are at risk of more severe outcomes with common cold virus infections than are people without asthma. It seems that asthma could be identified as a risk factor for severe outcomes in COVID-19. <b>Aims and objectives:</b> Our aim was to determine the characteristics of asthmatic patients infected with covid-19 and to establish whether asthma is a risk factor for having a worse outcome. <b>Methods:</b> A retrospective study including all covid-19 patients hospitalized in our pulmonology department between March 2020 and February 2021. We recorded clinical characteristics, imagery findings and outcomes of asthmatic patients. <b>Results:</b> We included one thousand patients. The mean age was 75 years. Death cases were evaluated at 10%. Our population includes 25 asthmatic patients (2,5%). This group is mainly made of women (68%). The mean age was 55,92 years. Obesity was noted in 11 patients. Diagnosis of a covid-19 infection was confirmed by RT-PCR testing in 60% of cases. In chest CT-scan lobar involvement was estimated&nbsp;between 50 and 75%&nbsp;in 1 case&nbsp;and over 75%&nbsp;in 3 cases. Fifteen patients presented with an exacerbation. Seventeen patients had a reduced pulse oxygen saturation under 90%. Oxygen flow requirement was over 10 l/min&nbsp;in 11 cases. We counted 2 deaths in asthmatic patients’ group (8%). <b>Conclusion:</b> Our study shows that the prevalence of asthma among covid-19 patients is similar to the prevalence in the general population, asthmatic patients are not more prone than others to catching the virus and asthma is not a risk factor for severe outcomes.