Open AccessRisk Assessment for Patients with Chronic Respiratory Conditions in the Context of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic Statement of the German Respiratory Society with the Support of the German Association of Chest Physicians
Author(s) -
Marek Lommatzsch,
Klaus F. Rabe,
Christian Taube,
Marcus Joest,
Michael Kreuter,
Hubert Wirtz,
Torsten Blum,
Martin Kolditz,
Hilte GeerdesFenge,
Ralf Otto-Knapp,
Brit Häcker,
Tom Schaberg,
Felix C. Ringshausen,
Claus Vogelmeier,
Niels Reinmuth,
Martin Reck,
Jens Gottlieb,
Stavros Konstantinides,
Joachim Meyer,
H. Worth,
Wolfram Windisch,
Tobias Welte,
Torsten Bauer
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
respiration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.264
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1423-0356
pISSN - 0025-7931
DOI - 10.1159/000518896
Subject(s) - medicine , asthma , context (archaeology) , risk factor , respiratory disease , intensive care medicine , respiratory system , diabetes mellitus , pediatrics , lung , paleontology , biology , endocrinology
Assessing the risk for specific patient groups to suffer from severe courses of COVID-19 is of major importance in the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. This review focusses on the risk for specific patient groups with chronic respiratory conditions, such as patients with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis (CF), sarcoidosis, interstitial lung diseases, lung cancer, sleep apnea, tuberculosis, neuromuscular diseases, a history of pulmonary embolism, and patients with lung transplants. Evidence and recommendations are detailed in exemplary cases. While some patient groups with chronic respiratory conditions have an increased risk for severe courses of COVID-19, an increasing number of studies confirm that asthma is not a risk factor for severe COVID-19. However, other risk factors such as higher age, obesity, male gender, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney or liver disease, cerebrovascular and neurological disease, and various immunodeficiencies or treatments with immunosuppressants need to be taken into account when assessing the risk for severe COVID-19 in patients with chronic respiratory diseases.