Asthma and COVID-19 Outcomes: A Prospective Study in a Large Health Care Delivery System.

Introduction: Previous studies on the outcomes of asthma and COVID-19 have shown inconsistent results. This study aimed to elucidate the association between asthma and COVID-19 outcomes.

Methods: We conducted a prospective study with a large health plan to compare the incidence of COVID-19 infection, hospitalization and ICU admission in a cohort of 41,282 patients with asthma and a 1:1 age-, sex-, and race-ethnicity-matched cohort without asthma across the following pandemic periods: pre-Delta (03/01/2020 to 05/31/2021), Delta (06/01/2021 to 12/31/2021), and Omicron (01/01/2022 to 08/13/2022).

Role of Small Airways in Asthma.

Asthma is an inflammatory condition of both the small and large airways. Recently the small airways have gained attention as studies have shown significant inflammation in the small airways in all severities of asthma. This inflammation has correlated with peripheral airway resistance and as a result, noninvasive methods to reliably measure small airways have been pursued.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory-induced inhibition of signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT-6) phosphorylation in aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease.

Background: Aspirin desensitization provides long-term clinical benefits. The exact mechanisms of aspirin desensitization are not clearly understood.

Objective: We sought to evaluate the effects of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on T-cell activation of the IL-4 pathway in aspirin-sensitive patients with asthma and control subjects.

Factors associated with negative histamine control for penicillin allergy skin testing in the inpatient setting.

Background: Identification of factors adversely affecting the utility of allergy skin testing is important in optimizing patient care. Inpatient penicillin skin test data from 1997 through 2007 demonstrate that up to 20% of attempted penicillin skin tests are indeterminate owing to a negative histamine test response, despite exclusion of H1 antagonists. Critical illness, vasopressors, steroid use, and psychotropic medications have been postulated to influence outcomes, but large studies are lacking.

Impact of student ethnicity and primary childhood language on communication skill assessment in a clinical performance examination.

Background: Clinical performance examinations (CPX) with standardized patients (SPs) have become a preferred method to assess communication skills in US medical schools. Little is known about how trainees' backgrounds impact CPX performance.

Objective: The objective of this paper is to examine the impact of student ethnicity, primary childhood language, and experience of diversity on the communication scores of a high-stakes CPX using SPs.