PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - José Luis Izquierdo
AU  - Carlos Almonacid
AU  - Yolanda González
AU  - Carlos Del Rio-Bermudez
AU  - Julio Ancochea
AU  - Remedios Cárdenas
AU  - Sara Lumbreras
AU  - Joan B. Soriano
TI  - The impact of COVID-19 on patients with asthma
AID  - 10.1183/13993003.03142-2020
DP  - 2021 Mar 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - 2003142
VI  - 57
IP  - 3
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/57/3/2003142.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/57/3/2003142.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2021 Mar 01; 57
AB  - Background An association between the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the presence of certain chronic conditions has been suggested. However, unlike influenza and other viruses, the disease burden of COVID-19 in patients with asthma has been less evident.Objective To understand the impact of COVID-19 in patients with asthma.Methods Using big-data analytics and artificial intelligence through the SAVANA Manager clinical platform, we analysed clinical data from patients with asthma from January 1 to May 10, 2020.Results Out of 71 182 patients with asthma, 1006 (1.41%) suffered from COVID-19. Compared to asthmatic individuals without COVID-19, patients with asthma and COVID-19 were significantly older (55 versus 42 years), predominantly female (66% versus 59%), smoked more frequently and had higher prevalence of hypertension, dyslipidaemias, diabetes and obesity. Allergy-related factors such as rhinitis and eczema were less common in asthmatic patients with COVID-19 (p<0.001). In addition, higher prevalence of these comorbidities was observed in patients with COVID-19 who required hospital admission. The use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) was lower in patients who required hospitalisation due to COVID-19, as compared to non-hospitalised patients (48.3% versus 61.5%; OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.44–0.77). Although patients treated with biologics (n=865; 1.21%) showed increased severity and more comorbidities at the ear, nose and throat level, COVID-19-related hospitalisations in these patients were relatively low (0.23%).Conclusion Patients with asthma and COVID-19 were older and at increased risk due to comorbidity-related factors. ICS and biologics are generally safe and may be associated with a protective effect against severe COVID-19 infection.The increased risk of hospitalisation due to COVID-19 in patients with asthma is largely associated with age and related comorbidities. ICS and biologics may be associated with a protective effect against the most severe manifestations of COVID-19. https://bit.ly/37yhr5b