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. 2023 Jul;31(7):1210-1218.
doi: 10.1016/j.jsps.2023.05.006. Epub 2023 May 23.

The effect of oseltamivir use in critically ill patients with COVID-19: A multicenter propensity score-matched study

Ohoud Aljuhani  1 , Ghazwa B Korayem  2 , Ali F Altebainawi  3   4 , Meshal S Alotaibi  3 , Noura A Alrakban  2 , Ragia H Ghoneim  1 , Ramesh Vishwakarma  5 , Abdulrahman I Al Shaya  6   7   8 , Shmeylan Al Harbi  7   8   8 , Jawaher Gramish  6   7   8 , Dahlia M Almutairi  7 , Ghada Alqannam  7 , Faisal F Alamri  9   10 , Abdullah F Alharthi  11 , Mashael Alfaifi  6   12 , Abdullah Al Amer  13 , Abeer A Alenazi  14 , Norah Bin Aydan  14 , Mai Alalawi  15 , Khalid Al Sulaiman  6   7   8
Affiliations

The effect of oseltamivir use in critically ill patients with COVID-19: A multicenter propensity score-matched study

Ohoud Aljuhani et al. Saudi Pharm J. 2023 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Oseltamivir has been used as adjunctive therapy in the management of patients with COVID-19. However, the evidence about using oseltamivir in critically ill patients with severe COVID-19 remains scarce. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of oseltamivir in critically ill patients with COVID-19.

Methods: This multicenter, retrospective cohort study includes critically ill adult patients with COVID-19 admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Patients were categorized into two groups based on oseltamivir use within 48 hours of ICU admission (Oseltamivir vs. Control). The primary endpoint was viral load clearance.

Results: A total of 226 patients were matched into two groups based on their propensity score. The time to COVID-19 viral load clearance was shorter in patients who received oseltamivir (11 vs. 16 days, p = 0.042; beta coefficient: -0.84, 95%CI: (-1.33, 0.34), p = 0.0009). Mechanical ventilation (MV) duration was also shorter in patients who received oseltamivir (6.5 vs. 8.5 days, p = 0.02; beta coefficient: -0.27, 95% CI: [-0.55,0.02], P = 0.06). In addition, patients who received oseltamivir had lower odds of hospital/ventilator-acquired pneumonia (OR:0.49, 95% CI:(0.283,0.861), p = 0.01). On the other hand, there were no significant differences between the groups in the 30-day and in-hospital mortality.

Conclusion: Oseltamivir was associated with faster viral clearance and shorter MV duration without safety concerns in critically ill COVID-19 patients.

Keywords: COVID-19; Critically ill; Intensive care unit; Mechanical ventilation duration; Mortality; Oseltamivir; Viral clearance.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow diagram showing patients recruited with COVID-19 COVID-19 = Coronavirus disease, ICU = intensive care unit, LOS = length of stay.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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