COVID-19: Smoking / Convalescent Plasma / Asthma / Poison Control Center Calls

By Kelly Young

Edited by André Sofair, MD, MPH, and William E. Chavey, MD, MS

Here are some of the latest developments on novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19):

Smoking: Past or current smokers with COVID-19 have double the risk for severe disease outcomes as people who've never smoked, according to a meta-analysis on the preprint server medRxiv. Researchers examined 12 studies that included 9000 COVID-19 patients. Roughly 18% of those with a history of smoking experienced disease progression, compared with 9% of never-smokers. The authors write: "Smoking history should be part of clinical management of COVID-19 patients and cessation should be added to the list of practices to blunt the COVID-19 pandemic."

Convalescent plasma: The FDA is now encouraging people who have recovered from COVID-19 to donate their plasma to help others who are ill. Each donation could be given to as many as four patients through convalescent plasma or hyperimmune globulin. People should be fully recovered for 2 weeks before donating.

Asthma: Asthma may be less of a risk factor for developing severe COVID-19 than previously thought, the New York Times reports. Asthma has been underrepresented in patients who were sick enough to get treated in New York, and only 5% of those who died from COVID-19 in the state had asthma. The Times quotes one expert as saying, "If you have mild or moderate disease, you're probably not going to behave much differently than someone who doesn't have asthma, particularly if you're a younger person." Officials say there are not yet enough data to draw any conclusions.

Hand sanitizer exposure in kids: In March 2020, calls to U.S. poison control centers related to hand sanitizers were 79% higher than they were the previous March, the FDA reports. Most were unintentional exposures in children aged 5 years and younger.