In “Asma in HOSPITALizations for COVID-19: an overestimated risk factor?”, Fernando Holguin, MD, MPH, and his co-authors compared the prevalence of asthma in patients hospitalized by COVID-19, as reported in 15 peer-reviewed studies., with the prevalence of asthma in the relevant population; they also correlated the prevalence of asthma in the study with the average prevalence of four-year asthma in influenza-related hospitalizations in the United States.In addition, they analyzed the medical records of 436 COVID-19 patients admitted to the University of Colorado Hospital to assess the likelihood that asthma patients are intubated more than patients without asthma.
“CDC exposes others with asthma to a superior threat of COVID-related hospitalization,” said Dr. Holguin, a professor at the Asthma Clinical Research and Research Program, Lung Division, Anschutz Medical Campus at the University of Colorado.
“However, many foreign studies show a low number of asthmatics among patients hospitalized by COVID-19.These effects defy speculation that asthma is a factor.”
Researchers conducted a specific review of the English clinical literature to identify studies that reported the prevalence of asthma in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 infection.Three independent reviewers agreed to include 15 studies in the research.Using the local knowledge of COVID-19 hospitalized patients, they conducted statistical research for the dating between the prestige of asthma and intubation, once they took into account the age, sex and body mass index (BMI) of the patients.
The authors stated: “We found that the proportion of asthma among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 is similar to that of the prevalence of asthma in the population of each site examined.This is in stark contrast to the flu, in which asthmatics account for more than 20% of those hospitalized in the United States.”
“Using the knowledge of our hospital, we also observed that among patients with COVID-19, those with asthma, who had a prevalence rate of 12%, did not seem more likely to be intubated than non-asthmamatic patients,” they said.Holguin and his colleagues say that corticosteroid inhalers used by many other people with asthma make it more difficult for coronaviruses to enter their airways.
Specifically, these Americans would possibly have decreased degrees of expression of ACE2, a protein that binds to SARS-CoV-2, the virus caused by COVID-19.People with allergy-related asthma may also have decreased expression of ACE2, whether or not they use corticosteroids.