Epidemiology of Asthma in Patients with COVID-19: Investigation of Respiratory Allergy as a Risk Factor for COVID-19 Severity

Background: The outcome of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is complicated by various comorbidities;asthma, a common chronic disease, may be considered one of these conditions. This study aimed to investigate the effect of asthma as a potential comorbid condition on the COVID-19 prognosis. Material(s) and Method(s): This retrospective study included all RT-PCR confirmed COVID-19 cases recorded on the Shiraz health department's electronic database from January to May 2020. A questionnaire was designed to collect information about patients' demographics, their history of asthma and other comorbidities, and the severity of COVID-19 by contacting them by phone. Result(s): Of 3163 COVID-19 patients, 109 (3.4%) had self-reported asthma with a mean age of 42.7 +/- 19.1 years. Most patients (98%) had mild-to-moderate asthma, while 2% had severe disease. Among asthmatic patients, fourteen (12.8%) were admitted to the hospital, and five (4.6%) died. Univariate logistic regression results showed that asthma had no significant effect on hospitalization (OR 0.95, 95% CI: 0.54-1.63) and mortality (OR 1.18, 95% CI: 0.48-2.94) in patients with COVID-19. Compared living and deceased patients with COVID-19, the pooled OR was 18.2 (95% CI: 7.3-40.1) for cancer, 13.5 (95% CI: 8.2-22.5) for age 40-70 years, 3.1 (95% CI: 2-4.8) for hypertension, 3.1 (95% CI: 1.8-5.3) for cardiac disease and 2.1 (95% CI: 1.3-3.5) for diabetes mellitus. Conclusion(s): This study showed that asthma is not associated with an increased risk of hospitalization and mortality in patients with COVID-19. Further studies are needed to investigate the risk of different asthma phenotypes on the severity of COVID-19 disease.Copyright © 2022 NRITLD,.

Neonatal Sepsis as a Risk Factor Associated with Severe COVID-19: A Case Report with Clinical and Imaging Features

Background: It has been believed that infants are at a lower risk for the severe symptoms and complications that arise from COVID-19. This report represents details on a newborn with sepsis that has been diagnosed with COVID-19 and, unfortunately, did not survive. Case presentation: The case was a 1-day-old female newborn, admitted to the surgical intensive care unit in Namazee Hospital, Shiraz, Iran, for a bladder exstrophy operation. She gradually started to deteriorate on the fourth day after the surgery, diagnosed with sepsis based on the results of her blood culture. Progressively, her vital signs and blood tests fell within normal ranges after being treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics. Without any fever, the neonate became severely irritable on the 16th day after her birth and hospitalization. Considering lymphopenia, high CRP, and abnormal chest x-ray, pharyngeal swab sampled for COVID 19. The newborn died from multi-organ failure on the 18th day of life. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) confirmed the COVID 19 infection in the dead newborn. The parents' pharyngeal sample, however, was negative for COVID 19. Conclusion: Growing awareness of sepsis as a risk factor for the severity of the COVID-19 infection in the neonatal period can be a form of knowledge for physicians to begin early treatment and reduce odds of mortality in this group of patients.