COVID-19 is not a driver of clinically significant viral wheeze and asthma, say researchers from Leicester Royal Infirmary and Leicester University.
In a paper published in Archives of Disease in Childhood, the team present the findings of a study that aimed to determine the extent that SARS-CoV-2 was identified in children admitted to hospital with viral wheeze and/or asthma at the start of the 2020 school year and compare presentation trends to previous years.
They compared four years (2017–2020) and extracted data on presentations to, and admissions from Leicester Royal Infirmary’s emergency department (pre-COVID-19 attendances were 60,000 per year) for the first four weeks of the school year.
They report that in 2020, there were no positive SARS-CoV-2 samples in children admitted with attacks of viral wheeze or asthma during the start of the school year.
The authors say the data indicates that, at least in Leicester, SARS-CoV-2 is not playing a role in the annual spike in viral wheeze and asthma admissions.
However, they point out that there is a risk of error in interpretation due to the relatively small sample size, but say “the complete absence of positive results lead us to believe this is unlikely”.
