*Data are n (%), unless otherwise indicated. N , total number of qualified subjects for evaluation; M ±SD, average ± standard deviation; n (%), frequency (percentage of frequency); 95% CI, 95% confidence interval. Total number of qualified subjects for evaluation of the quantity of cigarettes smoked per year, including former and current smokers.

Over the preceding 12 months before the COVID-19 pandemic, 4.5% (8/178), and 6.7% (12/178) of patients were admitted to hospitals or visited ED, respectively, due to asthma exacerbations. 28.2% (48/170) of the patients had a written personalized asthma action plan from their specialists, but only 1.2% (2/172) performed peak respiratory flow every day. Of the patients investigated, 11.0% (19/173) had attended the asthma education program organized by the hospitals, and as many as 10.7% (19/178) of patients expressed that they would seek medical online consultation services. Only 20.3% (36/177) of the patients had regularly visited outpatient clinics for asthma reassessment and prescription refill，while the remaining 79.7% visited outpatient clinics irregularly. Of note, 33.3% (59/177) of the patients had not used any asthma medication regularly before the COVID-19 pandemic, while 66.7% (118/177) had regularly used, as advised by their physicians, long-term maintenance medications which consisted of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) plus a long-acting β2 agonist (LABA) (85.6%, 101/118), and/or oral leukotriene modifiers (38/118, 32.2%) . Inhaled short-acting β2 receptor agonists, used as required for relieving symptoms for exacerbation, were used daily by 19.5% (23/118) of patients. Daily oral theophylline was used by 6.8% (68/118) of the patients.(Table 2)

Table 2. Summary of asthma medications before the COVID-19 pandemic