COVID‐19 and childhood asthma: Analysis of a pediatric referral hospital

Abstract

To the Editor, Spain has been one of the epicenters of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.Children (0-14 years-old) account at least for 10.5% of all cases and usually develop mild severity of coronavirus disease 20191 Clinical observations point out allergy and/or asthma are not risky conditions in pediatric patients with COVID-19, 2 and hypothetically, allergic sensitization could be inversely related to the expression of COVID-19. 3 However, little is known about the effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection in allergic and/or asthmatic children and adolescents. This study, approved by the Ethics Committee of Hospital Niño Jesús (Madrid, Spain), aimed to evaluate allergic comorbidities among symptomatic COVID-19 children attended at a referral pediatric hospital for this disease. The database of positive SARS-CoV-2 cases diagnosed based on reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) between 20 March and 13 July 2020 was retrospectively reviewed. Demographic information, COVID-19 symptoms, disease severity, clinical course, comorbidities, and blood biomarkers were obtained from electronic medical records. Eosinopenia was defined as absolute eosinophil counts ≤0.05 × 10 9 cells/L. Information on allergic disorders was obtained by telephone interview with parents and patients, who provided their oral consent to participate. The

Allergic disease as a causal protective factor for severe covid-19: a multivariable mendelian randomization study

“…Childhood asthma was considered a major protective factor against severe COVID-19 in our study, and there have been many reports on childhood asthma and severe COVID-19. In Spain, children were thought to usually develop mild COVID-19 40 . Clinical observations indicated that allergies or asthma were not hazardous conditions in pediatric patients with COVID-19 41 .…”

“…A meta-analysis of COVID-19 patients in children and young people found that patients with asthma were less likely to be admitted to critical care and less likely to die 42 . Data from a pediatric referral hospital indicated that the prevalence of asthma in pediatric patients with COVID-19 was low, with varied clinical manifestations and laboratory findings 40 . New confirmed cases of childhood asthma in Japan dropped significantly after the COVID-19 pandemic began, and 15 months later they have not recovered 43 .…”