Remdesivir Beneficial for Subgroup Hospitalized With COVID-19

MONDAY, March 13, 2023 (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, Ph.D., 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 percent of patients assigned to remdesivir and no remdesivir, respectively, died (adjusted odds ratio, 0.88; 95 percent 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 percent of those assigned to remdesivir and no remdesivir, respectively, died (adjusted odds ratio, 1.10; 95 percent CI, 0.88 to 1.38; low-certainty evidence). Among patients receiving no oxygen or low-flow oxygen, 9.1 and 11.2 percent 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.

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