Less Severe COVID-19 Outcomes Seen in Patients With Atopy

Patients with atopy may experience less severe outcomes when diagnosed with COVID-19, according to study results presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) Virtual Annual Meeting held from February 26 to March 1, 2021.

A total of 300 patients were hospitalized with and positive for SARS-CoV-2 were included in this prospective study. Investigators recorded their clinical features, history of atopy, total immunoglobulin (Ig) E, and chest computed tomography (CT). At baseline, 70% of patients were men; 14.3% of patients (n=43) had a history of atopy documented as rhinitis (n=23), asthma (n=16), or atopic dermatitis (n=4); and obesity was present in 32% of patients with atopy.

Patients with atopy were an average age of 55 years, had a mean O₂ saturation of 92%, and average respiratory rate of 27 breaths per minute. A total of 4 patients with atopy died. All of these patients were older than 60 years of age and had comorbidities such as arterial hypertension and obesity. The mean IgE total was 538 UI/mL, and 3 patients presented with IgE above 2000 UI/mL, all of whom also had clinical characteristics of atopy.

“The literature reports less severe outcomes in atopic patients affected by COVID-19,” the researchers concluded. In this study, there was a lower frequency of atopy than what is represented in the literature for the general population. In addition, more individuals with atopy had pulmonary impairment of more than 50% on chest CT compared with those without atopy.

Reference

Guterres DS, Dos Santos AC, de Almeida Prado Meireles Laubi M, et al. COVID-19 pandemia: atopy and prospective analysis of the clinical evolution of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus. Presented at: the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Virtual Annual Meeting (AAAAI); February 26-March 1, 2021. Abstract 248.