ABSTRACT
SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations were found to be highly effective in phase 3 clinical trials. However, these trials have not reported data regarding the subgroup of liver disease or excluded patients with liver disease. The effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines among liver cirrhosis (LC) patients is unclear. We conducted this meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in LC patients. A comprehensive literature search was conducted to include all the relevant studies that compared the outcomes of LC patients who received SARS-CoV-2 vaccines vs. unvaccinated patients. Pooled risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by the Mantel-Haenszel method within a random-effect model. Four studies with 51,834 LC patients (20,689 patients received at least one dose vs 31,145 were unvaccinated) were included. COVID-19-related complications, including hospitalization (RR 0.73, 95% CI 0.59-0.91, P = 0.004), mortality (RR 0.29, 95% CI 0.16-0.55, P = 0.0001), and need for invasive mechanical ventilation (RR 0.29, 95% CI 0.11-0.77, P = 0.01), were significantly lower in the vaccinated group compared to the unvaccinated group. SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in LC patients reduced COVID-19-related mortality, intubation, and hospitalization. SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is highly effective in LC. Further prospective studies, preferably randomized controlled trials, are necessary to validate our findings and determine which vaccine is superior in patients with LC.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Awake prone positioning (APP) has been recently proposed as an adjunctive treatment for non-intubated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients requiring oxygen therapy to improve oxygenation and reduce the risk of intubation. However, the magnitude of the effect of APP on clinical outcomes in these patients remains uncertain. We performed a comparative systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of APP to improve the clinical outcomes in non-intubated subjects with COVID-19. METHODS: The primary outcomes were the need for endotracheal intubation and mortality. The secondary outcome was hospital length of stay. Pooled risk ratio (RR) and mean difference with the corresponding 95% CI were obtained by the Mantel-Haenszel method within a random-effect model. RESULTS: A total of 14 studies (5 randomized controlled trials [RCTs] and 9 observational studies) involving 3,324 subjects (1,495 received APP and 1,829 did not) were included. There was a significant reduction in the mortality rate in APP group compared to control (RR 0.68 [95% CI 0.51-0.90]; P = .008, I2 = 52%) with no significant effect on intubation (RR 0.85 [95% CI 0.66-1.08]; P = .17, I2 = 63%) or hospital length of stay (mean difference -3.09 d [95% CI-10.14-3.96]; P = .39, I2 = 97%). Subgroup analysis of RCTs showed significant reduction in intubation rate (RR 0.83 [95% CI 0.72-0.97]; P = .02, I2 = 0%). CONCLUSIONS: APP has the potential to reduce the in-hospital mortality rate in COVID-19 subjects with hypoxemia without a significant effect on the need for intubation or length of hospital stay. However, there was a significant decrease in the need for intubation on subgroup analysis of RCTs. More large-scale trials with a standardized protocol for prone positioning are needed to better evaluate its effectiveness in this select population.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , COVID-19/therapy , Humans , Intubation, Intratracheal/adverse effects , Oxygen Inhalation Therapy/methods , Patient Positioning/methods , Prone PositionABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Micronutrient supplements such as vitamin D, vitamin C, and zinc have been used in managing viral illnesses. However, the clinical significance of these individual micronutrients in patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains unclear. We conducted this meta-analysis to provide a quantitative assessment of the clinical significance of these individual micronutrients in COVID-19. METHODS: We performed a comprehensive literature search using MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane databases through December 5th, 2021. All individual micronutrients reported by ≥ 3 studies and compared with standard-of-care (SOC) were included. The primary outcome was mortality. The secondary outcomes were intubation rate and length of hospital stay (LOS). Pooled risk ratios (RR) and mean difference (MD) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using the random-effects model. RESULTS: We identified 26 studies (10 randomized controlled trials and 16 observational studies) involving 5633 COVID-19 patients that compared three individual micronutrient supplements (vitamin C, vitamin D, and zinc) with SOC. Nine studies evaluated vitamin C in 1488 patients (605 in vitamin C and 883 in SOC). Vitamin C supplementation had no significant effect on mortality (RR 1.00, 95% CI 0.62-1.62, P = 1.00), intubation rate (RR 1.77, 95% CI 0.56-5.56, P = 0.33), or LOS (MD 0.64; 95% CI -1.70, 2.99; P = 0.59). Fourteen studies assessed the impact of vitamin D on mortality among 3497 patients (927 in vitamin D and 2570 in SOC). Vitamin D did not reduce mortality (RR 0.75, 95% CI 0.49-1.17, P = 0.21) but reduced intubation rate (RR 0.55, 95% CI 0.32-0.97, P = 0.04) and LOS (MD -1.26; 95% CI -2.27, -0.25; P = 0.01). Subgroup analysis showed that vitamin D supplementation was not associated with a mortality benefit in patients receiving vitamin D pre or post COVID-19 diagnosis. Five studies, including 738 patients, compared zinc intake with SOC (447 in zinc and 291 in SOC). Zinc supplementation was not associated with a significant reduction of mortality (RR 0.79, 95% CI 0.60-1.03, P = 0.08). CONCLUSIONS: Individual micronutrient supplementations, including vitamin C, vitamin D, and zinc, were not associated with a mortality benefit in COVID-19. Vitamin D may be associated with lower intubation rate and shorter LOS, but vitamin C did not reduce intubation rate or LOS. Further research is needed to validate our findings.