(HealthDay News) — Anakinra is not effective in reducing the need for mechanical ventilation among patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia, according to a study published online April 7 in JAMA Network Open.
Patricia Fanlo, MD, PhD, from the Hospital Universitario de Navarra in Pamplona, Spain, and colleagues assessed the efficacy and safety of anakinra (100 mg four times a day intravenously) versus standard of care alone for patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia and hyperinflammation. The analysis included 179 patients treated at one of 12 Spanish hospitals (May 8, 2020, to March 1, 2021), with a follow-up period of one month.
The researchers found that the proportion of patients not requiring mechanical ventilation up to day 15 was not significantly different between groups (77.1% in the anakinra group versus 85.9 percent in the standard-of-care group; risk ratio, 0.90; 95% confidence interval, 0.77 to 1.04; P = 0.16). Furthermore, anakinra did not result in any difference in time to mechanical ventilation (hazard ratio, 1.72; 95% confidence interval, 0.82 to 3.62; P = 0.14). Lastly, there was no significant difference observed between groups in the proportion of patients not requiring invasive mechanical ventilation up to day 15 (risk ratio, 0.99; 95% confidence interval, 0.88 to 1.11; P > 0.99).
“Although the primary and key secondary outcomes were not met, anakinra may have a role as an early treatment for patients with less-severe disease and inflammation,” the authors write.
The drugs for the study were provided by the company Swedish Orphan Biovitrum (Sobi), which manufactures anakinra.
