| Literature DB >> 33765902 |
Roberto Ariel Abeldaño Zuñiga1,2, Silvia Mercedes Coca3, Giuliana Florencia Abeldaño4, Ruth Ana María González-Villoria5.
Abstract
The aim was to assess the clinical effectiveness of drugs used in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 infection. We conducted a systematic review of randomized clinical trials assessing treatment with remdesivir, chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir, ritonavir, dexamethasone, and convalescent plasma, for hospitalized patients with a diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The outcomes were mortality, clinical improvement, duration of ventilation, duration of oxygen support, duration of hospitalization, virological clearance, and severe adverse events. A total of 48 studies were retrieved from the databases. Eleven articles were finally included in the data extraction and qualitative synthesis of results. The meta-analysis suggests a benefit of dexamethasone versus standard care in the reduction of risk of mortality at day 28; and the clinical improvement at days 14 and 28 in patients treated with remdesivir. We can conclude that dexamethasone would have a better result in hospitalized patients, especially in low-resources settings. The analysis of the main treatments proposed for hospitalized patients is of vital importance to reduce mortality in low-income countries, since the COVID-19 pandemic had an economic impact worldwide with the loss of jobs and economic decline in countries with scarce resources.The reviews of this paper are available via the supplemental material section.Entities:
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; antivirals; clinical improvement; drugs; mortality
Mesh:
Substances:
Year: 2021 PMID: 33765902 PMCID: PMC8010807 DOI: 10.1177/17534666211007214
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Ther Adv Respir Dis ISSN: 1753-4658 Impact factor: 4.031
Figure 1.Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flowchart of the inclusion process in the systematic review.
Main characteristics of the included studies.
| Author | Study site | Design | Sample | Intervention | Control | Outcomes reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cao[ | Hubei | Randomized, open-label, clinical trial | 99 intervention, 100 control | Lopinavir–ritonavir | Standard care | Mortality at day 28, early mortality, late mortality, clinical improvement at days 7, 14, and 28, duration of ventilation, duration of oxygen support, duration of hospitalization, virological clearance, and adverse events |
| Hung[ | Hong Kong | Randomized, open-label, clinical trial | 86 intervention, 41 control | Lopinavir–ritonavir–ribavirin–interferon Beta-1b | Lopinavir–ritonavir | Mortality at day 28, clinical improvement at day 7, duration of hospitalization, virological clearance, and adverse events |
| Wang[ | Hubei | Randomized, double-blinded, clinical trial | 158 intervention, 79 control | Remdesivir | Placebo | Mortality at day 28, early mortality, late mortality, clinical improvement at days 7, 14, and 28, duration of ventilation, duration of oxygen support, duration of hospitalization, virological clearance, and adverse events |
| Chen[ | Shanghai | Randomized, open-label, clinical trial | 15 intervention, 15 control | Hydroxychloroquine | Standard care | Virological clearance and adverse events |
| Gautret[ | France | Non-randomized, open-label, clinical trial | 20 intervention, 16 control | Hydroxychloroquine | Standard care | Virological clearance |
| Tang[ | China | Randomized, open-label, clinical trial | 75 intervention, 75 control | Hydroxychloroquine | Standard care | Virological clearance and adverse events |
| Borba[ | Brazil | Randomized, double-blinded, clinical trial | 41 intervention, 40 control | Chloroquine high dosage | Chloroquine low dosage | Mortality at day 28, early mortality, and adverse events |
| RECOVERY[ | United Kingdom | Randomized, open-label, clinical trial | 2104 intervention, 4321 control | Dexamethasone | Standard care | Mortality at day 28 |
| Li[ | Hubei | Randomized, open-label, clinical trial | 52 intervention, 50 control | Convalescent plasma | Standard care | Mortality at day 28, clinical improvement at days 7, 14, and 28, virological clearance, and adverse events |
| Spinner[ | USA | Randomized, open-label, clinical trial | 197 intervention A, 199 intervention B, 200 control | Remdesivir | Standard care | Clinical improvement at days 7, 14, and 28, and adverse events |
| Tomazini[ | Brazil | Randomized, open-label, clinical trial | 151 intervention, 148 control | Dexamethasone | Standard care | Mortality at day 28, and adverse events |
Reported outcomes in the included studies.
| Author | Intervention | Mortality at day 28 %(I)–%(C) | Early mortality %(I)–%(C) | Late mortality %(I)–%(C) | Clinical improvement at day 7 %(I)–%(C) | Clinical improvement at day 14 %(I)–%(C) | Clinical improvement at day 28 %(I)–%(C) | Duration of ventilation | Duration of oxygen support | Duration of hospital stay, days | Virological clearance %(I)–%(C) | Adverse events %(I)–%(C) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cao[ | Lopinavir–ritonavir | 19.2–25 | 19–27.1 | 19.3–23.1 | 6.1–2 | 45.5–30 | 78.8–70 | 4–5 | 12–13 | 14–16 | 60.3–58.6 (day 28) | 20–32.3 |
| Hung[ | Lopinavir–ritonavir–ribavirin–interferon Beta-1b | 0–0 | – | – | 4–8 (days to NEWS2 = 0) | – | – | – | – | 9–14.5 | 8–13 (median days) | 0–2 |
| Wang[ | Remdesivir | 14–13 | 11–15 | 14–10 | 3–2 | 27–23 | 65–58 | 7–15.5 | 19–21 | 25–24 | 75.6–83.1 (day 28) | 18–26 |
| Chen[ | Hydroxychloroquine | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 86.7–93.3 (day 7) | 26.7–20 |
| Gautret[ | Hydroxychloroquine | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 70–12.5 (day 6) | – |
| Tang[ | Hydroxychloroquine | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 70.7–74.7 (day 28) | 3–0 |
| Borba[ | Chloroquine high dosage | – | 39–15 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 18.9–11.1 |
| RECOVERY[ | Dexamethasone | 22.9–25.7 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Li[ | Convalescent plasma | 15.7–24 | – | – | 9.6–9.8 | 32.7–17.6 | 51.9–43.1 | – | – | – | 87.2–37.5 (day 3) | 3.8–0 |
| Spinner[ | Remdesivir | – | – | – | 48 | 77 | 90 | – | – | – | – | 5 |
| Tomazini[ | Dexamethasone | 56.3–61.5 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3.3–6.1 |
Intervention A (10 days remdesivir).
Intervention B (5 days remdesivir).
Control.
%(C), % in the control group; %(I), % in the intervention group; C, control; I, intervention; NEWS, National Early Warning Score.
Primary outcomes and main conclusions of the included studies.
| Author | Sample | Intervention | Control | Primary outcomes | Conclusions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cao[ | 99 intervention, 100 control | Lopinavir–ritonavir | Standard care | Time to clinical improvement | No benefit was observed with lopinavir–ritonavir |
| Hung[ | 86 intervention, 41 control | Lopinavir–ritonavir–ribavirin–interferon Beta-1b | Lopinavir–ritonavir | Time to virological clearance | Triple viral treatment was superior to lopinavir–ritonavir alone |
| Wang[ | 158 intervention, 79 control | Remdesivir | Placebo | Time to clinical improvement | No benefit was observed with remdesivir |
| Chen[ | 15 intervention, 15 control | Hydroxychloroquine | Standard care | Virological clearance | No benefit was observed with hydroxychloroquine |
| Gautret[ | 20 intervention, 16 control | Hydroxychloroquine | Standard care | Virological clearance | Hydroxychloroquine is significantly associated with viral load reduction |
| Tang[ | 75 intervention, 75 control | Hydroxychloroquine | Standard care | Virological clearance | No benefit was observed with hydroxychloroquine |
| Borba[ | 41 intervention, 40 control | Chloroquine high dosage | Chloroquine low dosage | Reduction in lethality | Higher doses of chloroquine should not be administered |
| RECOVERY[ | 2104 intervention, 4321 control | Dexamethasone | Standard care | Mortality at day 28 | Dexamethasone resulted in lower mortality |
| Li[ | 52 intervention, 50 control | Convalescent plasma | Standard care | Time to clinical improvement | No benefit was observed with convalescent plasma |
| Spinner[ | 197 intervention A, | A: remdesivir 10 days | Standard care | Time to clinical improvement | No difference was observed with the remdesivir 10-days group |
| A difference was observed in the remdesivir 5-days group, with uncertain clinical importance | |||||
| Tomazini[ | 151 intervention | Dexamethasone | Standard care | The mean number of days alive and free from mechanical ventilation during the first 28 days | The mean number of days alive and free from mechanical ventilation during the first 28 days was higher in the intervention group |
Figure 2.Forest plot of drugs employed in hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Comparison: dexamethasone versus standard care. Outcome: mortality at day 28.
CI, confidence interval; IV, inverse variance.
Figure 3.Forest plot of drugs employed in hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Comparison: remdesivir versus standard care or placebo. Outcome: clinical improvement.
CI, confidence interval; IV, inverse variance.