Short- and long-term effects of imatinib in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 infection: A randomised controlled trial (preprint)

We report the short- and long-term results of the SOLIDARITY Finland on mortality and other patient-important outcomes in patients hospitalised for COVID-19. Between 08/2021 and 03/2023, we randomised 156 patients in 15 hospitals. In the imatinib group, 7.2% of patients had died at 30 days and 13.3% at 1 year and in the standard of care group 4.1% and 8.3% (adjusted HR at 30 days 1.09, 95% CI 0.23-5.07). In a meta-analysis of randomised trials of imatinib versus standard of care (n=732), allocation to imatinib was associated with a mortality risk ratio of 0.73 (95% CI 0.32-1.63). At 1-year, self-reported recovery occurred in 79.0% in imatinib and in 88.3% in standard of care (RR 0.91, 95% CI 0.78-1.06). Of the 21 potential long COVID symptoms, patients often reported moderate or major bother from fatigue (24%), sleeping problems (19%) and memory difficulties (17%). We found no convincing difference between imatinib and standard of care groups in quality of life or symptom outcomes. The evidence raises serious doubts regarding the benefit of imatinib in reducing mortality, improving recovery and preventing potential long COVID symptoms when given to patients hospitalised for COVID-19.

Is sleep apnoea a risk factor for Covid-19? Findings from a retrospective cohort study (preprint)

Background: In the early phase of the coronavirus disease-19 (Covid-19) pandemic, Southwest Finland remained relatively spared. By the 3rd of May 2020, a total of 28 patients have been admitted to the Turku University Hospital. In this paper, we explore baseline characteristics in order to identify risk for severe Covid-19 disease and critical care admission. Methods For this retrospective cohort study, data were derived from hospital records. Basic descriptive statistics were used to characterise patients, including medians, percentiles and frequencies. Differences were tested with Mann Whitney U-test and Pearson's chi-square test. Results Pre-existent obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) was present in 29% of patients admitted in the hospital for Covid-19, none of them having severe OSA. Overall, other findings on admission were comparable with those reported elsewhere. C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT) were higher in patients who were eventually transferred to critical care in comparison to in those who were not (median CRP 187 mg/L versus 52 mg/L, p<0.005 and median PCT 0.46 versus 0.12, p=0.047). Moreover, there was a trend towards lower oxygen saturation on admission in ICU-patients (87% versus 93%, p=0.09). Discussion OSA was pre-existent in a disproportional large group of patients, which suggests that it is an important risk factor for severe Covid-19. Furthermore, we identified high CRP, PCT and possibly oxygen saturation as useful clinical measures to identify patients at risk for critical care.