COVID-19 Cytokine Storm Complications in Asthmatic Patients

The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 has inflicted millions of people in the world and caused severe complications in immunocompromised individuals. Some evidences suggest that severe COVID-19 complications are associated with the cytokine storm syndrome, contributing to the high mortality rate of the disease. Asthma is a complicated disease of the respiratory system. COVID-19 symptoms can be worse in asthmatic patients than others. Corticosteroids with anti-inflammatory functions which are used in asthmatic patients may have adverse outcomes in coronavirus infection and are not recommended for the treatment of COVID-19. Furthermore, asthmatic patients (using inhalation corticosteroids) have a suppressed immune system in the lung, which increases their susceptibility to COVID-19 infection.