key: cord-326839-nhzasi5a
authors: Ferreli, Fabio; Gaino, Francesca; Russo, Elena; Di Bari, Matteo; Pirola, Francesca; Costantino, Andrea; Malvezzi, Luca; De Virgilio, Armando; Colombo, Giovanni; Paoletti, Giovanni; Morenghi, Emanuela; Canonica, Giorgio Walter; Spriano, Giuseppe; Heffler, Enrico; Mercante, Giuseppe
title: Clinical presentation at the onset of COVID-19 and Allergic Rhinoconjunctivitis
date: 2020-08-18
journal: J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaip.2020.08.009
sha: 
doc_id: 326839
cord_uid: nhzasi5a

nan

(MiniRQLQ). 6 The questionnaire evaluated a series of 14 signs and symptoms on a scale 79 from 0 indicating "Not troubled" to 6 indicating "Extremely troubled" (total score: 0-84). 80

Information regarding the day of onset of each symptom was collected. The MiniRQLQ symptomatic period before the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy (February 21, 2020). Patients 84 were asked to compare the two clinical manifestations by defining them as "identical", 85 "similar", "different", or "completely different". Furthermore, we compared MiniRQLQ 86 scores and the presence of taste and/or smell dysfunction between the included COVID-87 19 allergic patients and a control group of 182 COVID-19 non-allergic patients, which were 88 enrolled in a previous study 1 , matched for age and sex. Smell and taste dysfunctions were 89 investigated by asking the patients to answer the question "Did you experience any 90 reduction or loss of smell and/or taste at the onset of COVID-19?". Possible answers were 91 "yes" or "no". Differences in the MiniRQLQ scores relative to ARC and to the onset of 92 COVID-19 were described as mean, standard deviation (SD) and 95% Confidence Interval 93 (CI). A p-value <0.05 was considered as significant. investigated to test the hypothesis that patients with a diagnosis of ARC seem to be more 118 affected by olfactory dysfunction when contracting COVID-19, as raised by some authors. 7 119

In our experience, no differences in taste and smell dysfunction were reported among 120 COVID-19 patients with or without a diagnosis of ARC. Recently, it was hypothesized that 121 asthma, ARC and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps could have a protective effect 122 against SARS-CoV-2 infection or its severity. 8 These diseases are characterized by a 123 pronounced type 2 immune reaction and a deficit in interferons, which might down-124 regulate the expression of ACE2, which is used by SARS-CoV-2 to enter human cells. 9 In 125 our series of 204 patients, the prevalence of ARC was only 10.8%, which is well below the 126 

Prevalence 139 of taste and smell dysfunction in Coronavirus Disease

Olfactory and gustatory dysfunction as a clinical presentation of mild-to-moderate 143 forms of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19): a multicenter European study

Report of the WHO-China Joint Mission on Coronavirus Disease

World Health Organization

Characteristics of ocular findings of 150 patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Hubei province

Trends in 154 the prevalence of asthma and allergic rhinitis in Italy between

Development and validation of the

Perspective: COVID-19, 163 implications of nasal diseases and consequences for their management

Association of respiratory allergy, asthma, and expression of the SARS-CoV-2 receptor