Introduction
There are limited data in paediatric populations evaluating whether
chronic cardiac or respiratory conditions, such as congenital heart
disease (CHD) and asthma, are associated with increased susceptibility
to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)
infection. Understanding the comorbidity profiles of children with
COVID-19 is important to inform public health measures and vaccine
prioritisation. Adult data indicate that asthma and cystic fibrosis (CF)
may not affect susceptibility or outcomes to coronavirus disease 2019
(COVID-19) [1-4]. The aims of this study were to evaluate the
prevalence of asthma and other cardiorespiratory diseases in a
paediatric cohort attending a major tertiary paediatric facility (The
Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Melbourne, Australia) for SARS-CoV-2
testing. Our specific objectives were to (1) determine whether children
with cardiac or respiratory comorbidities were more likely to test
positive for SARS-CoV-2 than those without, and (2) if children with
these pre-existing comorbidities experienced a higher rate of
symptomatic infection than those without comorbidities.