Retrospective Analysis of the Effectiveness of Remdesivir in COVID-19 Treatment during Periods Dominated by Delta and Omicron SARS-CoV-2 Variants in Clinical Settings.

Academic Journal

Dobrowolska, Krystyna¹ (AUTHOR)
Zarębska-Michaluk, Dorota^2,3 (AUTHOR) dorota1010@tlen.pl
Brzdęk, Michał¹ (AUTHOR)
Rzymski, Piotr⁴ (AUTHOR)
Rogalska, Magdalena⁵ (AUTHOR)
Moniuszko-Malinowska, Anna⁶ (AUTHOR)
Kozielewicz, Dorota⁷ (AUTHOR)
Hawro, Marcin⁸ (AUTHOR)
Rorat, Marta⁹ (AUTHOR)
Sikorska, Katarzyna¹⁰ (AUTHOR)
Jaroszewicz, Jerzy¹¹ (AUTHOR)
Kowalska, Justyna¹² (AUTHOR)
Flisiak, Robert⁵ (AUTHOR)

Journal of Clinical Medicine. Mar2023, Vol. 12 Issue 6, p2371. 16p.

*SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant
*SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant
*COVID-19 pandemic
*COVID-19 treatment
*SARS-CoV-2

Continuous evaluation of real-world treatment effectiveness of COVID-19 medicines is required due to the ongoing evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and the possible emergence of resistance. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze, in a retrospective manner, the outcomes in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 during the pandemic waves dominated by Delta and Omicron variants and treated with remdesivir (RDV) (n = 762) in comparison to a demographically and clinically matched group not treated with any antivirals (n = 1060). A logistic regression analysis revealed that RDV treatment was associated with a significantly lower risk of death during both Delta wave (OR = 0.42, 95%CI: 0.29–0.60; p < 0.0001) and Omicron-dominated period (OR = 0.56, 95%CI: 0.35–0.92; p = 0.02). Moreover, RDV-treated groups were characterized by a lower percentage of patients requiring mechanical ventilation, but the difference was not statistically significant. This study is the first real-world evidence that RDV remains effective during the dominance of more pathogenic SARS-CoV-2 variants and those that cause a milder course of the disease, and continues to be an essential element of COVID-19 therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]