Purpose: The effect of vasopressors on mortality of critically ill patients with COVID-19 has not been studied extensively.
Methods: A systematic search of PubMed, Scopus, and clinicaltrials.gov was conducted for relevant articles until January 2022. Eligibility criteria were randomized controlled and non-randomized trials. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality at 28 days or 30 days. The quality of studies was assessed using the MINORS tool. Paired meta-analysis was used to estimate the pooled risk ratios along with their 95% Confidence Interval.
Results: In total, 33 studies were included. Twenty-one studies with a total population of 7900 individuals provided data on mortality. Patients who received vasopressors were statistically significantly more likely to die compared to those who did not receive vasopressor therapy [RR (95%CI): 4.26 (3.15, 5.76); p<0.001]. This result remained statistically significant regardless of the in-hospital setting. In-hospital and 30-day mortality were statistically significantly higher in patients who received vasopressors [RR (95%CI): 4.60 (2.47, 8.55); p<0.001 and RR (95%CI): 2.97 (1.72, 5.14); p<0.001, respectively]. Four studies provided data on specific vasopressors; the highest mortality rate was observed in patients treated with vasopressin or epinephrine, while patients receiving angiotensin-II as a sole or second-line vasopressor agent had the lowest mortality rate. Also, analysis of 10 studies with a total population of 3519 individuals revealed that patients who received vasopressors were statistically significantly more likely to experience acute kidney injury [RR (95%CI): 3.17 (2.21, 4.54); p<0.001].
Conclusion: Vasopressors have detrimental effect on survival of critically ill patients with COVID-19.