TUESDAY, June 22, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Asthma seems not to be associated with COVID-19 hospitalization, according to a study published online June 9 in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
Krishan D. Chhiba, M.D., Ph.D., from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, and colleagues examined the prevalence of asthma among COVID-19 patients. The clinical characteristics and comorbidities in patients with COVID-19 with and without asthma were assessed by searching medical records. In addition, the risk for hospitalization associated with asthma and/or inhaled corticosteroid use was determined.
The researchers found that 14 percent of the 1,526 patients with COVID-19 were classified as having asthma. After adjustment for age, sex, gender, and comorbidities, asthma was not associated with an increased risk for hospitalization (relative risk, 0.96; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.77 to 1.19). In a similar adjusted model, the ongoing use of inhaled corticosteroids was not associated with an increased risk for hospitalization (relative risk, 1.39; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.90 to 2.15).
“Interestingly, asthma did not increase the risk of hospitalization after adjusting for covariates,” the authors write. “This is notable as it has been anticipated that underlying chronic lung disease such as asthma, which are typically triggered by a viral illness, would place these patients at increased risk of severe exacerbations.”
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