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. 2021 Dec 6;73(11):2031-2036.
doi: 10.1093/cid/ciab536.

Improved Survival Among Hospitalized Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Treated With Remdesivir and Dexamethasone. A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study

Thomas Benfield  1   2 , Jacob Bodilsen  3 , Christian Brieghel  4 , Zitta Barrella Harboe  2   5 , Marie Helleberg  6 , Claire Holm  7 , Simone Bastrup Israelsen  1 , Janne Jensen  8 , Tomas Østergaard Jensen  6 , Isik Somuncu Johansen  9 , Stine Johnsen  7 , Birgitte Lindegaard  2   6 , Jens Lundgren  2   6   10 , Christian Niels Meyer  11 , Rajesh Mohey  12 , Lars Møller Pedersen  7 , Henrik Nielsen  3 , Stig Lønberg Nielsen  9 , Niels Obel  2   6 , Lars Haukali Omland  6 , Daria Podlekareva  7 , Birgitte Klindt Poulsen  13 , Pernille Ravn  4 , Haakon Sandholdt  1 , Jonathan Starling  6 , Merete Storgaard  14 , Christian Søborg  4 , Ole Schmeltz Søgaard  14 , Torben Tranborg  15 , Lothar Wiese  11 , Hanne Rolighed Christensen  16
Affiliations

Improved Survival Among Hospitalized Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Treated With Remdesivir and Dexamethasone. A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study

Thomas Benfield et al. Clin Infect Dis. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Background: There are limited data on outcomes of moderate to severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among patients treated with remdesivir and dexamethasone in a real-world setting. We sought to compare the effectiveness of standard of care (SOC) alone versus SOC plus remdesivir and dexamethasone.

Methods: Two population-based nationwide cohorts of individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 during February through December 2020 were studied. Death within 30 days and need of mechanical ventilation (MV) were compared by inverse probability of treatment weighted (ITPW) logistic regression analysis and shown as odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI).

Results: The 30-days mortality rate of 1694 individuals treated with remdesivir and dexamethasone in addition to SOC was 12.6% compared to 19.7% for 1053 individuals receiving SOC alone. This corresponded to a weighted OR of 30-day mortality of 0.47 (95% CI: .38-.57) for patients treated with remdesivir and dexamethasone compared to patients receiving SOC alone. Similarly, progression to MV was reduced (OR 0.36; 95% CI: .29-.46).

Conclusions: Treatment of moderate to severe COVID-19 during June through December that included remdesivir and dexamethasone was associated with reduced 30-day mortality and need of MV compared to treatment in February through May.

Keywords: COVID-19; dexamethasone; pneumonia; remdesivir; survival.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Thirty-day survival for hospitalized patients (upper panel) and daily admissions (lower panel) with COVID-19 according to calendar time period. Abbreviation: COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Thirty-day survival (upper panel) and risk of mechanical ventilation (lower panel) for hospitalized patients with COVID-19 during February through May compared to June through December 2020. Abbreviation: COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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