(HealthDay News) — For patients hospitalized with COVID-19, remdesivir is associated with reduced mortality among those receiving no or low-flow oxygen, according to a review published online Feb. 21 in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.
Alain Amstutz, PhD, from the University Hospital Basel in Switzerland, and colleagues conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the benefits and harms of remdesivir compared to placebo or usual care in adults hospitalized with COVID-19. Individual data were obtained from eight randomized controlled trials with 10,480 patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
The researchers found that within 28 days of randomization, 12.5 and 14.1% of patients assigned to remdesivir and no remdesivir, respectively, died (adjusted odds ratio, 0.88; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.78 to 1.00; P = 0.045). Evidence was found for a credible subgroup effect based on respiratory support at baseline. Of patients who were ventilated, 30.0 and 28.5% of those assigned to remdesivir and no remdesivir, respectively, died (adjusted odds ratio, 1.10; 95% CI, 0.88 to 1.38; low-certainty evidence). Among patients receiving no oxygen or low-flow oxygen, 9.1 and 11.2% receiving remdesivir and no remdesivir, respectively, died (adjusted odds ratio, 0.80; 95 percent CI, 0.70 to 0.93; high-certainty evidence).
“Remdesivir reduced mortality in the subgroup of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who required no or only low-flow oxygen support, but was inconclusive in patients requiring more respiratory support,” the authors write.
Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
