ABSTRACT
As statins decrease the progression of sepsis and its related mortality, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of atorvastatin on survival and symptom improvement in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. This randomized controlled trial was performed on 156 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in Bojnourd city in 2021. Patients were randomly divided into comparison (standard therapy: hydroxychloroquine + Kaletra®) and intervention groups (atorvastatin 20 mg, SD, plus standard therapy). The main outcomes were the rate of symptom improvement, duration of hospitalization, need for intubation, and mortality rate. In this study, seven patients died, two patients (2.6%) in the comparison group and five (6.6%) in the intervention group. The mean hospitalization days (p = 0.001), the pulse rate (p = 0.004), and the frequency of hospitalization in the ICU ward (18.4% vs. 1.3%) were longer and greater in the intervention group. The remission probability in the comparison group was greater (p = 0.0001). The median hospitalization days in the intervention group was longer (p < 0.001) and remission in the comparison group occurred 1.71 times sooner (hazard ratio = 1.70, 95% confidence interval = 1.22-2.38, p = 0.002). Totally, adding atorvastatin to the standard regime in this study increased hospitalization days and imposed negative effects on symptom improvement in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.