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Papadopoulos NG, Mathioudakis AG, Custovic A, Deschildre A, Phipatanakul W, Wong G, Xepapadaki P, Abou‐Taam R, Agache I, Castro‐Rodriguez JA, Chen Z, Cros P, Dubus J, El‐Sayed ZA, El‐Owaidy R, Feleszko W, Fierro V, Fiocchi A, Garcia‐Marcos L, Goh A, Hossny EM, Huerta Villalobos YR, Jartti T, Le Roux P, Levina J, López García AI, Ramos ÁM, Morais‐Almeida M, Murray C, Nagaraju K, Nagaraju MK, Navarrete Rodriguez EM, Namazova‐Baranova L, Nieto Garcia A, Pozo Beltrán CF, Ratchataswan T, Rivero Yeverino D, Rodríguez Zagal E, Schweitzer CE, Tulkki M, Wasilczuk K, Xu D, Alekseeva A, Almeida B, Andre M, Arimova P, Blonde A, Cunningham A, Da Mota S, Efendieva K, Kalugina V, Kiefer S, Klein A, López CGC, López JJR, Moratellti C, Fuentes Pérez M, Simermann M, Tapia JSP, Tatopoulos A, Vishneva E, Volkov Κ, Bacharier L, Bonini M, Craig T, Diamant Z, Ducharme FM, Gern JE, Grigg J, Hamelmann EH, Hedlin G, Jartti T, Kalayci O, Kaplan A, Konradsen J, Kuna P, Lau S, Le Souef P, Lemanske RF, Makela MJ, Matricardi PM, Gómez R, Miligkos M, Pitrez PMC, Price D, Pohunek P, Roberts GC, Sheikh A, Tsiligianni I, Turner S, Valiulis A, Winders T, Yusuf OM, Zar H. Childhood asthma outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from the PeARL multi-national cohort. Allergy 2021; 76:1765-1775. [PMID: 33608919 PMCID: PMC8013557 DOI: 10.1111/all.14787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2020] [Revised: 01/24/2021] [Accepted: 01/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Background The interplay between COVID‐19 pandemic and asthma in children is still unclear. We evaluated the impact of COVID‐19 pandemic on childhood asthma outcomes. Methods The PeARL multinational cohort included 1,054 children with asthma and 505 non‐asthmatic children aged between 4 and 18 years from 25 pediatric departments, from 15 countries globally. We compared the frequency of acute respiratory and febrile presentations during the first wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic between groups and with data available from the previous year. In children with asthma, we also compared current and historical disease control. Results During the pandemic, children with asthma experienced fewer upper respiratory tract infections, episodes of pyrexia, emergency visits, hospital admissions, asthma attacks, and hospitalizations due to asthma, in comparison with the preceding year. Sixty‐six percent of asthmatic children had improved asthma control while in 33% the improvement exceeded the minimal clinically important difference. Pre‐bronchodilatation FEV1 and peak expiratory flow rate were improved during the pandemic. When compared to non‐asthmatic controls, children with asthma were not at increased risk of LRTIs, episodes of pyrexia, emergency visits, or hospitalizations during the pandemic. However, an increased risk of URTIs emerged. Conclusion Childhood asthma outcomes, including control, were improved during the first wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic, probably because of reduced exposure to asthma triggers and increased treatment adherence. The decreased frequency of acute episodes does not support the notion that childhood asthma may be a risk factor for COVID‐19. Furthermore, the potential for improving childhood asthma outcomes through environmental control becomes apparent.
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