Among immunocompromised patients hospitalized for COVID-19, “prompt initiation of remdesivir … is associated with significant survival benefit across all variant waves,” researchers report. “These findings provide much-needed evidence relating to the effectiveness of a foundational treatment for hospitalized COVID-19 patients among a high-risk population.”
Using data from routine clinical practice, the investigators looked at the effects of initiating remdesivir within 2 days of hospitalization of immunocompromised patients with COVID-19. When matched with similar patients who did not receive remdesivir, treated patients had these outcomes: “A total of 19,184 remdesivir patients were matched to 11,213 non-remdesivir patients. Overall, 11.1% and 17.7% of remdesivir patients died within 14 and 28 days, respectively, compared with 15.4% and 22.4% of non-remdesivir patients. Remdesivir was associated with a reduction in mortality at 14 days (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval]: 0.70 [0.62–0.78]) and 28 days (0.75 [0.68–0.83]). Survival benefit remained significant during the Pre-Delta, Delta, and Omicron time-periods.”