A case report of coronavirus disease-2019-induced acute asthma exacerbation in an obese patient

Hisashi Sasaki; Jun Miyata; Ai Kobayashi; Shuichi Kawano; Akihiko Kawana

doi:10.1002/rcr2.979

A case report of coronavirus disease-2019-induced acute asthma exacerbation in an obese patient

Respirol Case Rep. 2022 Jun 7;10(7):e0979. doi: 10.1002/rcr2.979. eCollection 2022 Jul.

Authors

Hisashi Sasaki^{1

2}, Jun Miyata², Ai Kobayashi¹, Shuichi Kawano¹, Akihiko Kawana²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine Japan Self-Defense Forces Central Hospital Tokyo Japan.
² Division of Infectious Diseases and Respiratory Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine National Defense Medical College Saitama Japan.

Abstract

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has spread worldwide. Previous studies indicated a low prevalence of COVID-19 induced acute exacerbations of asthma. We present a 39-year-old-male obese asthmatic case who experienced acute asthma exacerbation during COVID-19. On day 8 of infection, his cough and dyspnea worsened with hypoxia and wheezing. Laboratory test results revealed elevated interleukin-6 (IL-6) and total immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels without eosinophilia. Two months since the onset, hypoxia disappeared with decreased IL-6 and IgE levels. Our case suggested that obesity and high serum IL-6 and IgE levels may have contributed to atypical asthma exacerbation in COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID‐19; asthma; immunoglobulin E; interleukin‐6; obesity.

Publication types

Case Reports