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The frequency of severe COVID-19 does not appear to differ between those with and those without atopic diseases, according to research presented at this year’s virtual American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Annual Scientific Meeting.
“I think it is important to first stress that our knowledge regarding COVID-19 continues to evolve, and while we have expanded our knowledgebase significantly, there still remain gaps in the research,” Dylan Timberlake, MD, an allergist, ACAAI member and lead author of the study, told Healio Primary Care. “That being said, this study, amongst other recent publications, shows that neither patients with allergic disease nor asthma appear to have any significant increased risk of severe disease from COVID-19.”
The frequency of severe COVID-19 does not appear to differ between those with and those without atopic diseases, according to research presented at this year’s virtual American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Annual Scientific Meeting. Source: Adobe Stock.
Timberlake and colleagues conducted a retrospective chart review of patients who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center and Nationwide Children’s Hospital. They assessed charts for history of atopic diseases and evaluated the presence of ICU admission, length of hospital stay, use of supplemental oxygen, length of ICU stay and intubation.
A total of 275 patients hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 over a 2-month period were included in the study.
The researchers determined that the rate of ICU admission was 43% in those with atopic disease and 44.7% in those without. They also found that 79.1% of those with atopic disease used supplemental oxygen compared with 73.6% of those without atopic disease.
Timberlake and colleagues also determined that the rate of intubation was 35.8% in those with atopic disease and 36.5% in those without.
The mortality rate among patients included in the study was 13.4% in those with atopic disease and 20.7% in those without.
After the researchers adjusted for COPD status, they found that those with atopic disease had lower risk for mortality (adjusted OR = 0.55; 95% CI, 0.23 - 1.28). This was not seen among patients with asthma.
Timberlake said that although the study found that the risk for severe COVID-19 was not significantly increased among those with asthma or allergic disease, physicians should remind patients to take precautions to protect themselves from COVID-19.
“I always end conversations with patients regarding their risk with a discussion of standard precautions with the caveat that despite their risk stratification any person may be susceptible to severe disease and we must all do our part to slow the spread of COVID-19,” he said.
