Inhaled bronchodilators use and clinical course of adult inpatients with Covid-19 pneumonia in Spain: A retrospective cohort study

Abstract

Background In the current coronavirus health crisis, inhaled bronchodilators(IB) have been suggested as a possible treatment for patients hospitalized. Patients with evidence of Covid-19 pneumonia worldwide have been prescribed these medications as part of therapy for the disease, an indication for which this medications could be ineffective taken on account the pathophysiology and mechanisms of disease progression. Objective The main objective was to evaluate whether there is an association between IB use and length of stay. Primary end points were the number of days that a patient stayed in the hospital and death as a final event in a time to event analysis. Pneumonia severity, oxygen requirement, involved drugs, comorbidity, historical or current respiratory diagnoses and other drugs prescribed to treat coronavirus pneumonia were also evaluated. Methods A descriptive, observational, cross-sectional study was performed in this tertiary hospital in Madrid (Spain). Data were obtained regarding patients hospitalized with Covid-19, excluding those who were intubated. The primary and secondary outcomes such as duration of hospitalization and death were compared in patients who received IB with those in patients who did not. Results 327 patients were evaluated, mean age was 64.4±15.8 years. Median length of hospitalization stay was 10 days. Of them 292 (89.3%) overcame the disease, the remaining 35 died. Patients who had received IB did not have less mortality rate (odds ratio 0.839; 95% CI: 0.401 to 1.752) and less hospitalization period when compared with patients who did not received IB (odds ratio 1.280; 95% CI: 0.813 to 2.027). There was no significant association between IB use and recovery or death. Hypertension and diabetes were the most common comorbidities. The prevalence of chronic respiratory disease in our cohort was low (21.1%). Anticholinergics were the IB more frequently prescribed for Covid-19 pneumonia. Better response in patients treated with inhaled corticosteroids was not observed. Conclusion Off-label indication of inhaled-bronchodilators for Covid-19 patients are common in admitted patients. Taken on account our results, the use of IB for coronavirus pneumonia apparently is not associated with a significantly patient´s improvement. Our study confirms the hypothesis that inhaled bronchodilators do not improve clinical outcomes or reduce the risk of Covid-19 mortality. This could be due to the fact that the virus mainly affects the lung parenchyma and the pulmonary vasculature and probably not the airway. More researches are necessary in order to fill the gap in evidence for this new indication.

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