Background
The US Food and Drug Administration issued an Emergency Use Authorization for remdesivir use in patients with severe COVID-19.
Methods
We utilized data from two quaternary, acute care hospitals. The outcomes of interest were the impact of remdesivir on in-hospital death by day 28 as well as time to recovery, clinical improvement, and discharge. We utilized Cox proportional hazards models and stratified log-rank tests.
Results
224 patients were included in the study. Median age was 59 years; 67.0% were male; 17/125 patients (13.6%) who received supportive care and 7/99 patients (7.1%) who received remdesivir died. The unadjusted risk for 28-day in-hospital death was lower for patients who received remdesivir compared to patients who received supportive care (HR 0.42; 95% CI: 0.16-1.08). Although this trend remained the same after adjusting for age, sex, race and oxygen requirements on admission (aHR 0.49; 95% CI: 0.19-1.28), as well as chronic comorbidities and use of corticosteroids (aHR 0.44; 95% CI: 0.16-1.23), it did not reach statistical significance. The use of remdesivir was not associated with an increased risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) and liver test abnormalities. Although not statistically significant, the rate ratios for time to recovery, clinical improvement, and discharge were higher in women and Black or African American patients.
Conclusion
Patients on remdesivir had lower, albeit not significant, all-cause in hospital mortality, and the use of remdesivir did not increase the risk for AKI. Promising signals from this study need to be confirmed by future placebo-controlled randomized clinical trials.
Although there are few randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the efficacy of drugs to treat COVID‐19, different molecules have been used empirically and with great interest in those intended to control the excessive inflammatory response produced by SARS‐CoV‐2. By blocking the IL‐6 receptor, tocilizumab has a role in controlling the inflammatory response. Clinical improvement of respiratory parameters and hospital stay have been described in small series in a series of patients without a control group [1]. There are currently numerous ongoing clinical trials aimed to clarifying the role of this molecule in COVID‐19. The guidelines for the treatment of SARS‐CoV‐2 pneumonia from the Spanish Ministry of Health contemplate the use of tocilizumab as a therapeutic tool for those patients with severe respiratory failure or rapid respiratory deterioration with criteria for admission to the intensive care unit (ICU).
Background and objective: The effects of corticosteroid treatment on non-severe COVID-19 pneumonia patients are unknown. To determine the impacts of adjuvant corticosteroid administrated to patients with non-severe COVID-19 pneumonia.
Method: A retrospective cohort study based on propensity score analysis was designed to explore the effects of corticosteroid on several clinical outcomes.
Results: 132 patients satisfied the inclusion criteria and 35 pairs were generated according to propensity score matching. Compared to non-corticosteroid group, the CT score on day 7 was significantly higher in corticosteroid group (8.6 (IQR, 2.8-11.5) versus 12.0 (IQR, 5.0-19.3), P = 0.046). In corticosteroid group, more patients progressed to severe cases (11.4% versus 2.9%, P = 0.353), hospital stay (23.5 days (IQR, 19-29 d) versus 20.2 days (IQR, 14-25.3 d), P = 0.079) and duration of viral shedding (20.3 days (IQR, 15.2-24.8 d) versus 19.4 days (IQR, 11.5-28.3 d), P = 0.669) were prolonged, while fever time (9.5 days (IQR, 6.5-12.2 d) versus 10.2 days (IQR, 6.8-14 d), P = 0.28) was shortened, however all these data revealed no statistically significant differences.
Conclusion: Corticosteroid might have a negative effect on lung injury recovery in non-severe COVID-19 pneumonia patients, however the results of this study must be interpreted with caution because of confounding factors.
Background and objective: The effects of corticosteroid treatment on non-severe COVID-19 pneumonia patients are unknown. To determine the impacts of adjuvant corticosteroid administrated to patients with non-severe COVID-19 pneumonia.
Method: A retrospective cohort study based on propensity score analysis was designed to explore the effects of corticosteroid on several clinical outcomes.
Results: 132 patients satisfied the inclusion criteria and 35 pairs were generated according to propensity score matching. Compared to non-corticosteroid group, the CT score on day 7 was significantly higher in corticosteroid group (8.6 (IQR, 2.8-11.5) versus 12.0 (IQR, 5.0-19.3), P = 0.046). In corticosteroid group, more patients progressed to severe cases (11.4% versus 2.9%, P = 0.353), hospital stay (23.5 days (IQR, 19-29 d) versus 20.2 days (IQR, 14-25.3 d), P = 0.079) and duration of viral shedding (20.3 days (IQR, 15.2-24.8 d) versus 19.4 days (IQR, 11.5-28.3 d), P = 0.669) were prolonged, while fever time (9.5 days (IQR, 6.5-12.2 d) versus 10.2 days (IQR, 6.8-14 d), P = 0.28) was shortened, however all these data revealed no statistically significant differences.
Conclusion: Corticosteroid might have a negative effect on lung injury recovery in non-severe COVID-19 pneumonia patients, however the results of this study must be interpreted with caution because of confounding factors.