Association of Remdesivir Treatment With Mortality Among Hospitalized Adults With COVID-19 in the United States.

Importance: SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, poses considerable morbidity and mortality risks. Studies using data collected during routine clinical practice can supplement randomized clinical trials to provide needed evidence, especially during a global pandemic, and can yield markedly larger sample sizes to assess outcomes for important patient subgroups. Objective: To evaluate the association of remdesivir treatment with inpatient mortality among patients with COVID-19 outside of the clinical trial setting. Design, Setting, and Participants: A retrospective cohort study in US hospitals using health insurance claims data linked to hospital chargemaster data from December 1, 2018, to May 3, 2021, was conducted among 24 856 adults hospitalized between May 1, 2020, and May 3, 2021, with newly diagnosed COVID-19 who received remdesivir and 24 856 propensity score-matched control patients. Exposure: Remdesivir treatment. Main Outcomes and Measures: All-cause inpatient mortality within 28 days of the start of remdesivir treatment for the remdesivir-exposed group or the matched index date for the control group. Results: A total of 24 856 remdesivir-exposed patients (12 596 men [50.7%]; mean [SD] age, 66.8 [15.4] years) and 24 856 propensity score-matched control patients (12 621 men [50.8%]; mean [SD] age, 66.8 [15.4] years) were included in the study. Median follow-up was 6 days (IQR, 4-11 days) in the remdesivir group and 5 days (IQR, 2-10 days) in the control group. There were 3557 mortality events (14.3%) in the remdesivir group and 3775 mortality events (15.2%) in the control group. The 28-day mortality rate was 0.5 per person-month in the remdesivir group and 0.6 per person-month in the control group. Remdesivir treatment was associated with a statistically significant 17% reduction in inpatient mortality among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 compared with propensity score-matched control patients (hazard ratio, 0.83 [95% CI, 0.79-0.87]). Conclusions and Relevance: In this retrospective cohort study using health insurance claims and hospital chargemaster data, remdesivir treatment was associated with a significantly reduced inpatient mortality overall among patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Results of this analysis using data collected during routine clinical practice and state-of-the-art methods complement results from randomized clinical trials. Future areas of research include assessing the association of remdesivir treatment with inpatient mortality during the circulation of different variants and relative to time from symptom onset.

COVID-19 Evidence Accelerator: A parallel analysis to describe the use of Hydroxychloroquine with or without Azithromycin among hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic remains a significant global threat. However, despite urgent need, there remains uncertainty surrounding best practices for pharmaceutical interventions to treat COVID-19. In particular, conflicting evidence has emerged surrounding the use of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, alone or in combination, for COVID-19. The COVID-19 Evidence Accelerator convened by the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA, in collaboration with Friends of Cancer Research, assembled experts from the health systems research, regulatory science, data science, and epidemiology to participate in a large parallel analysis of different data sets to further explore the effectiveness of these treatments. METHODS: Electronic health record (EHR) and claims data were extracted from seven separate databases. Parallel analyses were undertaken on data extracted from each source. Each analysis examined time to mortality in hospitalized patients treated with hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, and the two in combination as compared to patients not treated with either drug. Cox proportional hazards models were used, and propensity score methods were undertaken to adjust for confounding. Frequencies of adverse events in each treatment group were also examined. RESULTS: Neither hydroxychloroquine nor azithromycin, alone or in combination, were significantly associated with time to mortality among hospitalized COVID-19 patients. No treatment groups appeared to have an elevated risk of adverse events. CONCLUSION: Administration of hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, and their combination appeared to have no effect on time to mortality in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Continued research is needed to clarify best practices surrounding treatment of COVID-19.