Elsevier

Respiratory Medicine

Volume 185, August–September 2021, 106495
Respiratory Medicine

Short communication
Symptoms in patients with asthma infected by SARS-CoV-2

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmed.2021.106495Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • SARS-CoV-2 is associated with wheezing in only a minority of patients with asthma.

  • Wheezing is more frequent in patients with asthma and pneumonia due to COVID-19.

  • Asthma exacerbation as a manifestation of COVID-19 is extremely rare.

Abstract

Introduction

Organ tropism of SARS-CoV-2 to the respiratory tract could potentially aggravate asthma. The susceptibility of patients with asthma to develop an exacerbation when they are infected with SARS-CoV-2 is unknown. We aimed to investigate the symptoms presented in patients with asthma who became infected with SARS-CoV-2.

Methods and results

All patients over 14 years of age who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (by RT-PCR) were included (n = 2995). In patients with asthma (n = 77, 2.6%; 44 females), symptoms, therapy and phenotype were recorded. Seventeen (22%) patients had mild asthma, 55 (71%) moderate and five severe (6%). Twenty-six patients with asthma (34%) were asymptomatic, 34 (44%) developed symptoms but did not require hospital admission, and 17 (22%) were hospitalised. One patient was admitted because of asthma exacerbation without pneumonia or other symptoms. Ten patients (13%) had wheezes (six with pneumonia). Comparison of wheezing between patients with non-T2 asthma and the rest of the patients was statistically significant, (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

SARS-CoV-2 infection is not a significant cause of asthma exacerbation, although some patients may present wheezing, especially in cases of pneumonia. The severity of asthma does not seem to be associated with symptoms of the disease.

Keywords

Asthma
Covid-19
Virus

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