COVID-19 Severity decreased among patients with asthma, eosinophilia and noneosinophilic asthma

Interestingly, blood eosinophil count, a marker of type 2 inflammation, was linked to lower mortality across all groups. This implies that certain immunological factors, such as type 2 inflammation, might influence COVID-19 severity in patients with airway diseases.

Moreover, the study found that patients with asthma still demonstrated improved outcomes even after accounting for eosinophilia, indicating that not only eosinophilic asthma but also non-eosinophilic asthma was associated with better protection against severe COVID-19.

These findings are significant in understanding the relationship between airway diseases and COVID-19 severity. While asthma appears to offer some level of protection, especially in cases without eosinophilia, COPD patients may be at higher risk. This research underscores the importance of considering underlying health conditions when assessing COVID-19 risks and could potentially guide more tailored treatment and care for patients with respiratory illnesses during the pandemic. 

Source: 

Liu, Y., Rajeevan, H., Simonov, M., Lee, S., Wilson, F. P., Desir, G. V., Vinetz, J. M., Yan, X., Wang, Z., Clark, B. J., Possick, J. D., Price, C., Zaeh, S., Gomez, J. V.-L., Cohn, L., Gautam, S., & Chupp, G. L. (2023). Differences in Mortality Among Patients With Asthma and COPD Hospitalized With COVID-19. In The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice. Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaip.2023.07.006