Asthma does not increase COVID-19 mortality and poor outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Arto Yuwono Soeroto,1,2 Aga Purwiga,2 Emmy H. Pranggono,1,2 Rully M.A Roesli2
1 Division of Pulmonology and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran, Hasan Sadikin Hospital, Bandung, Indonesia
2 Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran, Hasan Sadikin Hospital, Bandung, Indonesia
Abstract
Background: The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has mentioned Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with moderate or severe asthma as a high risk group for severe illness. While WHO mentioned only chronic respiratory diseases, not specifically asthma as a risk factor for severe illness. There has been asthma prevalence discrepancy in studies of COVID-19 across the world.
Objective: This meta-analysis aims to investigate the association between asthma and composite poor outcome in patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search from PubMed and Embase database. We included all original research articles with adult COVID-19 patients > 18 years old and had information related to asthma as a risk factor. Studies with outcomes consisting of mortality, severe COVID-19, use of mechanical ventilation, ICU admission, and hospital admission were included in this study. The outcomes of interest were divided into severe COVID-19, mortality and other poor outcomes.
Results: Eleven studies were included in meta-analysis with a total of 6,046 patients. Asthma was not associated with composite poor outcomes with OR = 0.92 (95%CI 0.71–1.19, p = 0.61, and I2 = 8.49%). Furthermore, subgroup analysis showed that asthma was not associated with severe COVID (p = 0.76), mortality (p = 0.45), and other poor outcomes (p = 0.28).
Conclusion: Our study showed that asthma was not associated with severe COVID-19, mortality, and other poor outcomes in patients with COVID-19.
Key words: Asthma, Corticosteroid, COVID-19, mortality, poor outcome