Abstract:
Background: Several comorbid diseases were associated with worse clinical outcomes of
coronavirus diseases 19 (COVID-19). However, the impact of comorbid asthma on the clinical
outcomes of COVID-19 is not known in Ethiopia.
Objective: To assess the impact of comorbid asthma on the clinical outcomes of COVID-2019 at
Guder hospital COVID-19 treatment center, West Shoa zone, Oromia, Ethiopia.
Method: A retrospective cohort study involving 307 confirmed COVID-19 patients from March
13, 2020, to January 30, 2022 was conducted at Guder hospital COVID-19 treatment center,
Oromia, Ethiopia. Data were collected on patients' sociodemographic, clinical characteristics,
drug-related, and clinical outcomes variables from patients’ medical records. Data were entered
into Epi-Data version 4.6 for cleaning and exported to SPSS version 25 for analysis. Independent
t-tests and chi-square were used for comparison of the COVID-19 patients with and without
asthma groups. Logistic regression was used to determine the predictors of clinical outcomes.
Statistical significance was determined at a p-value less than 0.05 in multivariate logistic
regression.
Results: Among a total of 307 confirmed COVID-19 patients, 22 (7.17%) had comorbid asthma.
Comorbid asthma was not a significant risk factor for COVID-19 mortality (COR = 1.058, 95%
CI = 0.298 - 3.752) and respiratory failure (AOR = 2.564, 95% CI= 0.814 - 8.079). However, age
(AOR = 1.045, 95% CI =1.005 - 1.687), rural resident (AOR = 2.862, 95% CI = 1.221 - 6.707),
and CCI score (1, 2 and ≥ 3) were significantly increased COVID-19 mortality. Similarly, rural
resident (AOR = 3.377, 95% CI = 1.612 - 7.075), fever (AOR = 2.534, 95% CI =1.268 - 5.062),
fatigue (AOR = 3.202, 95% CI = 1.116 -9.188) and CCI score (1, 2 and ≥ 3) were significantly
increased COVID-19 respiratory failure.
Conclusion: In this study, comorbid asthma had no significant effect on COVID-19 mortality and
respiratory failure. However, age, CCI score (1, 2 and ≥ 3), and rural residence were independent
predictors for COVID-19 mortality. Additionally, CCI scores (1, 2 and ≥ 3), rural residence and
COVID-19 symptoms (fever and fatigue) significantly increased respiratory failure in COVID-19
patients.
