Evaluation of the Clinical and Laboratory Findings of Asthmatic Children with SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Abstract

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> There are a limited number of studies about the clinical findings of coronavirus infection in pediatric patients with asthma. We aimed to evaluate the clinical and laboratory characteristics of pediatric patients with asthma and healthy children without chronic disease who infected with SARS-CoV-2. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> This is a retrospective, case-control study comparing the asthma diagnosed and healthy children who were diagnosed as COVID-19 in our hospital between March 11 and November 10, 2020. <b><i>Results:</i></b> During the study period, 6,205 children were diagnosed with CO­VID-19 in our hospital. Only 54 (0.87%) patients had a diagnosis of asthma. The mean of the age was 10.5 years and 53.7% (<i>n</i>:29) of the patients with asthma were male. Cough, shortness of breath, emesis, and diarrhea were found to be significantly higher in asthma group than in the control group (respectively <i>p</i> = 0.002, 0.000, 0.002, 0.019, 0.015). Patients who were given SABA was significantly higher in asthma diagnosed patients (<i>p</i> = 0.000). Hospitalization was significantly higher in asthma group (<i>p</i> = 0.025), and the duration of hospitalization was significantly higher in control group (<i>p</i> = 0.034). There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in terms of requiring oxygen treatment and in laboratory findings between groups. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> This study revealed that pediatric patients diagnosed with asthma were in a mild clinic. According to these findings, asthma may not affect the course of the COVID-19 in children.

Asthma as a risk factor for hospitalization in children with COVID‐19: A nested case‐control study

“…Results remained essentially unchanged after further adjusting for non‐asthma‐related symptoms that could have independently increased likelihood of hospitalization, such as fever, vomiting, and fatigue. Consistent with our results, some studies have reported asthma as a risk factor for hospitalization in children with COVID‐19, 26 , 27 while others have reported conflicting results. 20 , 22 Although our sample size was small and thus results need to be interpreted with caution, hospital LOS and the need for respiratory support or PICU admission did not seem to differ by asthma status.…”

The effect of allergy and asthma as a comorbidity on the susceptibility and outcomes of COVID-19

“…In children, the prevalence of asthma in COVID-19 patients was lower compared with that in the pediatric population ( 58–60 ). Asthma was not associated with increased severity and mortality of COVID-19 ( 61 ). On the other hand, improved asthma control and improved lung function were observed in children with asthma during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may be due to reduced exposure to asthma triggers and increased adherence to asthma treatments ( 62 ).…”

Comparison of clinical features of COVID‐19 infection in children with asthma and their healthy peers

“…symptoms in asthmatic and non-asthmatic pediatric patients was found to be 94.4% and 85.8%, respectively, and no statistically significant difference was found between the two groups. 14 The presence and duration of fever did not differ significantly between the two groups. In retrospective studies in childhood, fever was reported to be 50.4% in our country and 51.2% in the USA which are similar to our study.…”

“…Similarly, in the study conducted in our country, no significant difference was found between the asthma‐controlled and uncontrolled groups in terms of having symptoms of COVID‐19, being hospitalized due to COVID‐19, prescribing COVID‐19 treatment, and requiring oxygen and steroid treatment. 14 In a study conducted in Spain, it was reported that asthma severity and control status were not associated with a worse clinical course. 15 All our patients had mild or moderate asthma, and we did not have any severe asthma cases.…”

“… 13 In a retrospective study conducted in our country, the presence of COVID‐19 symptoms in asthmatic and non‐asthmatic pediatric patients was found to be 94.4% and 85.8%, respectively, and no statistically significant difference was found between the two groups. 14 …”