Clinical characteristics of and outcomes for patients with COVID-19 and comorbid lung diseases primarily hospitalized in a conventional pulmonology unit: a retrospective study

Riou, Marianne; Marcot, Christophe; Canuet, Matthieu; Renaud-Picard, Benjamin; Chatron, Eva; Porzio, Michele; Dégot, Tristan; Hirschi, Sandrine; Metz-Favre, Carine; Kassegne, Loïc; Ederle, Carole; Khayath, Naji; Labani, Aissam; Leyendecker, Pierre; Blay, Frédéric De; Kessler, Romain

Background: Scant data are currently available about a potential link between comorbid chronic lung diseases and the risk and severity of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. Methods: To describe the clinical characteristics of and outcomes for patients with COVID-19 infection, including patients with comorbid respiratory diseases, who have been primarily hospitalized in the pulmonology department of Strasbourg University Hospital, France. In this retrospective, single-center study, we included all confirmed cases of COVID-19 from March 3 to April 15, 2020. We then compared the symptoms, biological and radiological findings, and outcomes for patients with and without chronic lung disease. Results: Of the 124 patients that were enrolled, the median age was 62 years, and 75 patients (60%) were male. Overall, 40% of patients (n = 50) had preexisting comorbid lung disease, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (n = 15, 12%) and asthma (n = 19, 15%). Twenty-eight patients were transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU), and six patients died in our unit. Comorbid lung diseases were not predictive of ICU hospitalization, but a significantly higher total mortality was observed (17.6% vs. 5.5%, p < 0.05) in these patients. Conclusions: Our results suggest the lack of an over-representation of CLD in COVID-19, representing 40% of patients in this cohort and even within a pulmonology department. CLD were not a risk factor for ICU management. However, a tendency to higher global mortality was observed in COVID-19 patients with CLD. Further studies are warranted to determine the risk of COVID-19 for patients with comorbid chronic lung diseases.