PATIENTS
We performed a retrospective study on patients who presented at the ER
service of several Italian hospitals with symptoms suggestive of
atypical pneumonia and were subsequently hospitalized with a diagnosis
of SARS-CoV-2 infection based on the detection of viral nucleic acid in
nasal and/or pharyngeal clinical specimens. Most patients were admitted
in Covid-19 centers sited in Lombardy (the Italian region most heavily
affected by Covid-19), while the remaining patients came from centers in
other Italian regions, including Lazio and Aosta Valley. The doctors
working in these centers recorded the clinical data of their inpatients
with specific reference to respiratory allergy and graded the severity
of their respiratory disease at the end of their hospital stay. Patients
were considered “atopic” if they had an unequivocal history of
respiratory allergy to seasonal and/or perennial airborne allergens
confirmed by skin prick tests carried out in a specialist allergy center
and/or by elevated specific IgE. Age, sex, and smoking habits were
recorded along with several co-morbidities including diabetes,
hypertension, coronary heart disease, and thrombosis. The respiratory
consequences of the viral infection were classified as mild, severe, or
very severe based on no need for respiratory assistance, need for
non-invasive respiratory assistance or need for invasive respiratory
assistance or death, respectively. Patients’ data were anonymized, and
the internal review board of the promoting center approved the study.