The Impact of Asthma on Covid-19 Disease Severity in Children and Adolescents During the Delta Wave

Asvini Balasubramaniam¹, Elisa Marte^2,3, Jacqueline Leff³, Rubab Sohail⁴ and Pushpom James¹*

¹Pediatric Department, Staten Island University Hospital, Staten Island, New York, USA
²Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital, Loma Linda, USA
³Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, New York City, USA
⁴Biostatistics Unit, Northwell Health, Staten Island, USA

*Corresponding Author: Pushpom James, Pediatric Department, Staten Island University Hospital, Staten Island, New York, USA

Received: June 11, 2025; Published: June 28, 2025

Abstract

Objectives: During the Alpha wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, asthmatic children initially appeared to have some protection but later exhibited more severe disease when presenting to the emergency department (ED). Given the Delta wave’s higher transmissibil ity and viral loads, this study aims to examine whether similar trends persisted during the Delta wave.

Methods: A retrospective chart review across our health system was conducted to compare differences among asthmatics vs. non asthmatic pediatric patients. We reviewed hospitalization rates and vaccination status of patients 6-18 years old who presented to the ED between June to December 2021 and tested COVID-19 positive. For hospitalized patients, we analyzed respiratory support rates and complications using order summaries, flowsheet data, and ICD10 codes.

Results: Based on 464 patients, asthmatics had a statistically higher hospitalization rates than non-asthmatics (24% vs 6%). Unvac cinated asthmatics were significantly more likely to be hospitalized than their non-asthmatic counterparts. Among the hospitalized patients, a higher proportion of asthmatics required respiratory support and developed complications compared to non-asthmatic patients. These differences however did not reach statistical significance, likely limited by a small sample size.

Conclusions: This study revealed that pediatric and adolescent asthmatics with COVID-19 during the Delta wave are a vulnerable group who may require increased monitoring.

Keywords: Pediatric COVID-19; Delta Variant; Hospitalization Rates; Respiratory Complications; Co-Morbidities; Vaccination

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Citation

Citation: Pushpom James., et al. “The Impact of Asthma on Covid-19 Disease Severity in Children and Adolescents During the Delta Wave".Acta Scientific Paediatrics 8.7 (2025): 24-32.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2025 Pushpom James., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.