Introduction Following the recent COVID-19 lockdown, a reduction in emergency healthcare visits was reported. Infectious diseases were less often diagnosed, while it was not clear if this was due to a decrease in prevalence or a decrease in emergency healthcare visits due to fear of COVID-19. Methods This study comprises a follow-up from a recently finished randomised controlled trial, to gain insight into the prevalence of asthma exacerbation and fear of COVID-19 in patients with moderate-severe asthma and controls in the Netherlands. Participants, patients with asthma and controls, were invited to fill out a short survey by email or post. Exacerbation frequencies until 1 July 2020 were verified with the hospitals’ and general practitioners’ medical records, pharmacies and patient interviews. Results In quarter 2 of 2020, mean exacerbation frequency per patient was significantly lower (χ 2 (3)=9.91, p=0.019) compared with quarter 2 in previous years. Patients with asthma were more likely to avoid (38.8%; controls, 0.0%, p<0.01) or delay (24.5%; controls, 0.0%, p=0.02) essential medical visits due to fear of SARS-CoV-2 infection at medical facilities. Conclusion In conclusion, we found a significantly reduced asthma exacerbation frequency during COVID-19 social distancing measures compared with previous years. Patients with asthma also showed more anxiety towards (acquiring) COVID-19 infection. Trial registration number NL8576.
【저자키워드】 Asthma, viral infection, infection control, 【초록키워드】 COVID-19, Asthma, randomised controlled trial, Infectious diseases, Anxiety, lockdown, SARS-COV-2 infection, Prevalence, COVID-19 infection, Patient, Control, Follow-up, disease, General practitioners, Frequency, Netherlands, registration number, medical records, Pharmacy, Exacerbation, email, emergency healthcare visits, pharmacies, quarter, significantly lower, Social distancing measure, controls, decrease, Result, significantly, reported, diagnosed, reduced, less, reduction in, COVID-19 in patient, emergency healthcare visit, essential medical visit, fill out, moderate-severe, 【제목키워드】 COVID-19, Asthma, lockdown, Prevalence, Cohort, moderate-severe,