ABSTRACT
Background: Despite global efforts, COVID 19 pandemic is still posing a serious challenge with dearth of effective treatment options. Remdesivir has got FDA approval as the first COVID-19 anti-viral agent in adult and paediatric patients (aged ≥12 years and weighing at least 40 kg) requiring hospitalization. Objective: The present prospective, observational, cross sectional study was planned to evaluate the impact of early initiation of Remdesivir on clinical outcomes in moderate to severe COVID 19 patients requiring ICU care. Materials and Methods: In this study, 100 consecutive symptomatic RT-PCR positive COVID 19 patients requiring admission to Intensive care unit based on predefined criteria were included for evaluation. All such moderate to severely ill patients were given Remdesivir intravenously as a 200-mg loading dose on day 1, followed by a 100-mg maintenance dose for the next four days along with other standard care. The main outcome measure analysed was the impact of early initiation of Remdesivir on recovery assessed by number of days in hospital, recovery, biochemical improvements and death. Results: Out of total 100 patients, 84 patients recovered with Remdesivir along with supportive treatment and were discharged from the hospital. Mean age of patients at presentation 53.5± 14.8 years with 5:1 male preponderance. Mean duration of hospital stay was 11.6 ± 5.9 days. D-dimer, CRP, Ferritin, IL-6 decreased significantly post treatment with P values <0.05, <0.001, <0.001, <0.01 respectively when compared to values at admission. No significant side effects were seen with remdesivir infusion. Conclusion: This real-world experience suggests that in the subset of hospitalized patients with moderate to severe pneumonia, early use of Remdesivir can lead to better clinical outcomes and help in reduction of associated mortality and morbidity of COVID-19. © 2021 Journal of Association of Physicians of India. All rights reserved.