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COVID-19 and childhood asthma: First considerations

Demetrio Kiriazopulos

In these last months, besides the apprehensions that normally arise in asthmatic patients during the flu period, there is the fear of COVID-19 infection and its effects on their health. What can patients suffering asthma, both adults and children, do to better protect their health? Are they really at greater risk of infection? And if they are infected by the virus, how should behave? These are some of the questions made by scientific community. Even allergologists ask themselves these questions, but many aspects of this new disease are unknown now. From the epidemiologic data currently available it is clear that the subjects most at risk are the elderly, the immunosuppressed and the chronic patients, but it isn’t equally clear whether, among these, asthmatic patients are included, even if COVID-19 is considered to be majorly responsible for respiratory disease. We can say that COVID-19 does not have a significant impact on childhood asthma, and there is no indication to radically change treatment strategies for asthmatic children. New data are emerging daily, rapidly updating our understanding of this novel coronavirus and further research is now needed to focus on different aspects of COVID-19.