The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly altered the clinical course of many chronic pathologies. Despite the relatively mild course of infection in the majority of children, in the post-COVID period patients with bronchial asthma increasingly demonstrate persistent functional impairments, immune imbalances, and biochemical shifts, which may affect disease severity, the frequency of exacerbations, and the effectiveness of baseline therapy. The aim of the study is to identify clinical and laboratory features and their correlation in children with bronchial asthma in the post-COVID period. Materials and methods of research. For the purpose of a comprehensive assessment of the immune status in children suffering from bronchial asthma (BA) who had previously contracted coronavirus infection, a clinical and laboratory study was conducted, involving 135 children aged 7 to 15 years. All patients were under observation in pediatric inpatient and outpatient settings, which ensured the reliability and completeness of clinical data collection. Depending on the history of COVID-19, the examined children were divided into two main groups: Group I – 60 children with a confirmed diagnosis of bronchial asthma of varying severity (mild, moderate, severe) who had a documented history of COVID-19. Group II – 65 children with bronchial asthma of comparable severity who had not contracted coronavirus infection. Results and discussion: An average correlation r=+0.57 was found between the duration of wheezing and K+, while a weak correlation with Ca++ was found (r= -0.37). The correlation between the frequency of exacerbations per year and Ca++ was r=-0.42, but a strong correlation was found with K+ (r= +0.8) and P (r=+0.71). The revealed changes show that there is a direct correlation between the clinical manifestation of bronchial asthma and ME (potassium and phosphorus), which can aggravate the course of the disease. The correlation between Phosphorus and Potassium was positive in all groups, and in severe bronchial asthma the coefficients were higher (r=0.78 and r=0.65, respectively). Zinc in all children, regardless of the severity of the disease, had a pronounced negative correlation, which increased as bronchial asthma worsened (from - r=0.68 for mild asthma to r=-0.88 for severe asthma). A study of the relationship between magnesium and calcium also revealed a negative correlation, particularly pronounced in children with severe asthma. Eosinophils and IgE in children with severe asthma and COVID-19 showed a moderate positive correlation (r=0.36). Conclusion. Thus, the identified changes in the level of ME confirm their significance in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma, especially in conditions of viral infection, and can be considered as additional markers of the severity of the condition and the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions.

Bronchial asthma, children, COVID-19

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