A Comparative Analysis of Clinical Characteristics, Laboratory Findings, and Radiological Manifestations of Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients with and without Atopy: A Single-Center Cross-Sectional Study with Matched Controls
Volume 9, Issue 1, Winter 2024, Pages 389-395
https://doi.org/10.30491/hpr.2024.453010.1423
Mojtaba Ahmadzadeh-Darinsoo, Mostafa Akbariqomi, Morteza Ahmadzadeh-Darinsoo, Ensieh Vahedi, Hamid Babavalian, Mohammad Sadegh Hashemzadeh, Seyyed Hossein Hasheminejad, Manochehr Zoheyri, Hamid Reza Javadi, Ramezan Ali Taheri, Mahdi Bagheri, Morteza Mirzaei
Abstract Background: The coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic emerged in December 2019, resulting in a high number of deaths worldwide. There is a need to investigate how this condition affected people with different diseases, particularly atopy.
Objectives: This study aimed to compare clinical symptoms, laboratory test results, radiological manifestations, and clinical outcomes between hospitalized COVID-19 patients with and without atopy.
Methods: This single-center cross-sectional study with matched controls was conducted on 106 (out of 334) COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Baqiyatallah Hospital, Tehran, Iran, from March 24 to April 24, 2020. Among them, there were 40 and 66 cases with and without atopy, respectively. The non-atopic patients were also matched with the atopic patients in terms of age, gender, Body Mass Index (BMI), and the prevalence of comorbidities, particularly hypertension and diabetes. Patients' clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, and radiological features, recorded upon their admission, and the outcomes were then compared between both study groups.
Results: Compared with the non-atopic group, weakness, myalgia, and chills were more frequent in the patients affected with atopy (P <0.05), and neutrophil count, Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR), C-Reactive Protein (CRP), bilateral lung involvement, bilateral pneumonia, and Ground-Glass Opacity (GGO) were among the laboratory test results and radiological manifestations that were observed significantly less in atopic patients (P <0.05). No significant difference was further detected regarding the COVID-19 outcomes in both study groups (P >0.05).
Conclusion: This study showed that atopic conditions were capable of increasing the frequency of some COVID-19 clinical symptoms and reducing the severity of COVID-19 with regard to laboratory findings and radiological features on admission. In addition, atopy was not correlated with COVID-19 outcomes in atopic patients.