Do chronic respiratory diseases or their treatment affect the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection?

Abstract

WHO. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) advice for the public: when and how to use masks. 2020. https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novelcoronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/when-and-how-to-use-masks (accessed March 17, 2020). 2 State Council, China. Guidelines for the selection and use of different types of masks for preventing new coronavirus infection in different populations 2020 (in Chinese). Feb 5, 2020.

Considering the Effects of Microbiome and Diet on SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Nanotechnology Roles

“…Interestingly, asthma appears to be underrepresented among comorbidities for critically ill patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. 9 In severe asthma, asthma control and sputum neutrophilia are associated with Proteobacteria phylum relevant to pathogens such as Escherichia, Salmonella, Vibrio, and Helicobacter. 10 Additionally, in chronic obstructive airways disease, the phylum Bacteroidetes (e.g., Prevotella) is decreased.…”

COVID-19 infection and glucocorticoids: update from the Italian Society of Endocrinology Expert Opinion on steroid replacement in adrenal insufficiency

“…If so, one would expect patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma or rheumatological disorders at an increased risk of severe COVID-19 presentation. Surprisingly, these comorbidities appear under-represented in patients with severe COVID-19 [3,[10][11][12]. Although confounding factors and reporting bias could account for such findings, they suggest that GCs should not be blamed or discouraged.…”

“…Despite the above mentioned reports of a lower representation of subjects taking low-dose GC among those with a more severely symptomatic COVID-19 [3,[10][11][12], to date there is no evidence supporting a beneficial (nor a detrimental) role for corticosteroids in preventing viral infection or spread. More, considering that 60-80% of infected subjects remains completely asymptomatic [4], there is no indication to increase GC therapy in asymptomatic patients with AI.…”

“…Although confounding factors and reporting bias could account for such findings, they suggest that GCs should not be blamed or discouraged. More, it cannot be excluded that GCs play a role in shaping the clinical presentation of COVID-19 [12], and a retrospective study of 200 patients with ARDS apparently showed a lower mortality among those receiving methylprednisolone [13]. The number of registered clinical trials on the use of steroids in COVID-19 pneumonia and related ARDS increases daily, aimed at investigating the effects of different formulations, associations and dosages.…”

The expression level of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 determines the severity of COVID-19: lung and heart tissue as targets

“…The latest data from China are based on an analysis of confirmed cases, and generally show that elderly people and those who have already suffered from serious disease are significantly at higher risk of COVID-19 (Le Couteur et al, 2020;Lipsitch et al, 2020). The fatality rate of healthy people who die from COVID-19 is less than 1%, whereas the fatality rate for people with cardiovascular disease (CVDs) is more than 10% (Matsushita et al, 2020), for diabetics 7.3% (Hill et al, 2020), and for those with chronic respiratory disease is about 6% (Halpin et al, 2020).…”