Impact of COVID‐19 on incidence, clinical presentation, and prognosis of acute chest syndrome in patients with sickle cell disease

Acute chest syndrome (ACS) is a frequent complication of sickle cell disease (SCD). Because coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) increases mortality and morbidity in many diseases, we retrospectively analyzed the impact of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection on the incidence, the clinical presentation, and the prognosis of ACS in patients with SCD by comparing ACS episode before and during COVID‐19 pandemic. Ninety‐nine episodes of ACS were registered over 24 months before pandemic versus 81 episodes over 24 months during the pandemic period. The number of ACS episodes varies among children regarding the two period of time: 26 episodes (26%) for the pre‐pandemic period versus 11 episodes (13%) for the pandemic period (p = 0.03). Comparisons between adults and children showed a higher incidence of initial VOC (45% vs. 24%; p = 0.04) in adults, and a higher incidence of initial pneumonia (35% vs. 15%; p = 0.01) and documented infection (35% vs. 7%; p < 0.001) in children. One patient died during the pandemic period but without any relationship with ACS or COVID‐19. During this pandemic period, 13 episodes of ACS (16%) were found related to coronavirus infection. These ACS episodes did not show any significant differences in terms of outcome when compared to the other ACS episodes observed during this period. Overall, coronavirus infection did not demonstrate a negative impact on incidence, clinical presentation, and outcome of ACS in patients with SCD. Early management, chronic treatment with HU, and exchange transfusions could likely explain the low morbidity and mortality rates.