Emerging evidence for non-pharmacologic interventions in reducing the burden of respiratory illnesses

Rutvij A Khanolkar; Aleksandar Trajkovski; Arnav Agarwal; Merril A Pauls; Eddy S Lang

doi:10.1007/s11739-022-02932-y

Emerging evidence for non-pharmacologic interventions in reducing the burden of respiratory illnesses

Intern Emerg Med. 2022 Apr;17(3):639-644. doi: 10.1007/s11739-022-02932-y. Epub 2022 Feb 4.

Authors

Rutvij A Khanolkar^{1

2}, Aleksandar Trajkovski³, Arnav Agarwal⁴, Merril A Pauls⁵, Eddy S Lang^{6

7

8}

Affiliations

¹ Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, #305, 2011 University Dr NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 4T4, Canada. rutvij.khanolkar@ucalgary.ca.
² Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada. rutvij.khanolkar@ucalgary.ca.
³ University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
⁴ Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
⁵ Health Sciences Centre, Max Rady College of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
⁶ Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, #305, 2011 University Dr NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 4T4, Canada.
⁷ Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
⁸ Alberta Health Services, Calgary, AB, Canada.

Abstract

The global pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) has led to significant morbidity and mortality, and unprecedented economic and health system disruption. Non-pharmacologic interventions (NPIs) such as masking and physical distancing have formed the underpinnings of COVID-19 infection control strategies. Concomitantly, numerous jurisdictions have seen a decrease in hospitalizations for non-COVID-19 respiratory illnesses (NCRIs) such as asthma, community-acquired pneumonia, influenza, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease relative to pre-pandemic levels. These associations give rise to a number of testable hypotheses regarding the efficacy of NPIs in reducing the substantial burden of NCRIs. Here, we review emerging perspectives on the role of NPIs in NCRI prevention with the ultimate goal of informing future research and public policy development as we move into what may be the endemic phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: Asthma; COVID-19 pandemic; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); Hospitalizations; Influenza; Masking; Non-pharmacologic interventions (NPIs); Physical distancing; Pneumonia; Respiratory illness; Viral triggers.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / prevention & control
Humans
Influenza, Human* / epidemiology
Pandemics / prevention & control
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive* / epidemiology
SARS-CoV-2