American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, Nov. 4-8

The annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology was held from Nov. 4 to 8 in New Orleans and attracted approximately 3,500 participants from around the world, including allergy and immunology specialists as well as other health care professionals. The conference featured presentations focusing on the latest advances in the prevention and treatment of asthma, food and medication allergies, immune dysfunction, and sleep apnea.

In one study, Katharine J. Foster, M.D., of the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, and colleagues found that Latino patients have a higher risk for developing asthma exacerbations following COVID-19 infection compared with non-Latino Black and White patients.

For the study, the authors enrolled adult COVID-19-positive patients at the time of infection. The patients had a history of asthma and were evaluated between February and April 2020 and were followed for mean of 6.8 months. The researchers found that Latino patients experienced about 1.6 more weeks of asthma exacerbation following COVID-19 infection compared with non-Latino Black patients and non-Latino White patients. This finding remained true after adjustment for gender, body mass index, age, inhaled corticosteroid use, and allergic/atopic status.

“Additionally, we found that even with some patients experiencing a longer duration of uncontrolled asthma, there were no significant differences in the number of health care provider visits per subject nor in the number of step-up asthma therapy responses,” Foster said. “We want to recommend that providers consider initiating increased scheduled follow-up visits with Latino patients with asthma who become infected with COVID-19 and consider step-up therapy early in the exacerbation.”

Abstract No. A032

In another study, Suzanne Ngo, M.D., of the Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, and colleagues found that most young adults with asthma who are transitioning from pediatric care to adult care have not been prepared for the transition.

In an effort to pinpoint areas of focus for improvement, the authors conducted an online survey among patients ages 18 to 30 years with asthma to evaluate how much preparation young asthma patients were receiving for the transition process between pediatric and adult care. Respondents were asked about their experiences with transition preparation during pediatric care and their current asthma care. Two groups were recruited: a hospital cohort of patients who previously received asthma care by a subspecialist (allergy or pulmonary) at a tertiary hospital center and a university cohort of current students and staff from a university system. The researchers found that most participants did not receive adequate transition preparation from their pediatric asthma providers.