ABSTRACT
Based on separate protective mechanisms related to lipid metabolism, viral cell entry and inflammation, fibrate treatment might be advantageous among patients who have been taking fibrates before SARS-CoV-2 infection and continue taking them during the infection. Based on published data on hospitalized COVID-19 patients, we recommend that the clinicians should ask their patients with metabolic syndrome who are already taking fibrates to continue fibrate treatment during the COVID-19 illness. This recommendation applies to both outpatients and hospitalized patients. However, results from the ongoing randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using fenofibrate treatment for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 have yet to prove that fenofibrate is clinically significant for this indication.KEY MESSAGESThe role of fibrates as a repurpose to treat SARS-CoV-2 is under investigation in at least three ongoing RCTs.Obesity, diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidaemia, individually or clustered as a discrete phenotype, the metabolic syndrome, typically associate with a more severe course of COVID-19.Fibrate treatment seems to be most advantageous among patients who have been taken fibrates before SARS-CoV-2 infection and are continuing to take them during the infection.We recommend that the clinicians encourage their patients who are already taking fibrate to continue using the drug throughout the COVID-19 illness.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 Drug Treatment , Fenofibrate , Metabolic Syndrome , Fenofibrate/therapeutic use , Fibric Acids/therapeutic use , Guidelines as Topic , Humans , Metabolic Syndrome/complications , Metabolic Syndrome/drug therapy , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is associated with systemic inflammation, endothelial activation, and multiorgan manifestations. Lipid-modulating agents may be useful in treating patients with COVID-19. These agents may inhibit viral entry by lipid raft disruption or ameliorate the inflammatory response and endothelial activation. In addition, dyslipidemia with lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and higher triglyceride levels portend worse outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Upon a systematic search, 40 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with lipid-modulating agents were identified, including 17 statin trials, 14 omega-3 fatty acids RCTs, 3 fibrate RCTs, 5 niacin RCTs, and 1 dalcetrapib RCT for the management or prevention of COVID-19. From these 40 RCTs, only 2 have reported preliminary results, and most others are ongoing. This paper summarizes the ongoing or completed RCTs of lipid-modulating agents in COVID-19 and the implications of these trials for patient management.