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Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) triggers multiple components of the immune system and causes inflammation of endothelial walls across vascular beds, resulting in respiratory failure, arterial and venous thrombosis, myocardial injury, and multi-organ failure leading to death. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, aspirin was suggested for the treatment of symptomatic individuals, given its analgesic, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, anti-thrombotic, and antiviral effects. This study aimed to evaluate the association of aspirin use with various clinical outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. Methods: This was a retrospective study involving patients aged ≥ 18 years and hospitalized for COVID-19 from March 2020 to October 2020. Primary outcomes were acute cardiovascular events (ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), type 1 non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), acute congestive heart failure (CHF), and acute stroke) and death. Secondary outcomes were respiratory failure, need for mechanical ventilation, and acute deep vein thrombosis (DVT)/pulmonary embolism (PE). Results: Of 376 patients hospitalized for COVID-19, 128 were taking aspirin. Significant proportions of native Americans were hospitalized for COVID-19 in both aspirin (22.7%) and non-aspirin (24.6%) groups. Between aspirin and non-aspirin groups, no significant differences were found with regard to mechanical ventilator support (21.1% vs. 15.3%, P = 0.16), acute cardiovascular events (7.8% vs. 5.2%, P = 0.32), acute DVT/PE (3.9% vs. 5.2%, P = 0.9), readmission rate (13.3% vs. 12.9%, P = 0.91) and mortality (23.4% vs. 20.2%, P = 0.5); however, the median duration of mechanical ventilation was significantly shorter (7 vs. 9 days, P = 0.04) and median length of hospitalization was significantly longer (5.5 vs. 4 days, P = 0.01) in aspirin group compared to non-aspirin group. Conclusion: No significant differences were found in acute cardiovascular events, acute DVT/PE, mechanical ventilator support, and mortality rate between hospitalized COVID-19 patients who were taking aspirin compared to those not taking aspirin. However, larger studies are required to confirm our findings.
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INTRODUCTION: Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) serves as a functional receptor to gain entry into the cells for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The interaction between SARS-CoV-2 and ACE2 is a potential virulent factor in infectivity. Our study aimed to ascertain the association of RAAS inhibitors with adverse cardiovascular and other outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. METHODS: This is a retrospective study of medical records of ≥18-year-old patients hospitalized for COVID-19 from March 2020 to October 2020. Primary outcomes were acute cardiovascular events (ST-elevation myocardial infarction, non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction type 1, acute congestive heart failure, acute stroke) and mortality. Secondary outcomes were respiratory failure, need for and duration of mechanical ventilation, acute deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism (DVT/PE), and readmission rate. RESULTS: Among 376 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, 149 were on RAAS inhibitors. No statistically significant differences were found between RAAS inhibitor and non-RAAS inhibitor groups with respect to acute cardiovascular events (6% vs. 6.2%, p = 0.94), acute DVT/PE (4.7% vs. 4.8%, p = 0.97), hypoxia (62.4% vs. 58.6%, p = 0.46), need for mechanical ventilation (18.1% vs. 16.7%, p = 0.72), mortality (19.5% vs. 22%, p = 0.56), and readmission rate (11.4% vs. 14.1%, p = 0.45). Some nuances discovered were a higher rate of hospitalizations among Native Americans receiving RAAS inhibitors (30.2% vs. 19.8%) and significantly lower levels of procalcitonin in patients on RAAS inhibitors. CONCLUSIONS: Among hospitalized patients with COVID-19, those on RAAS inhibitors showed no significant differences in acute cardiovascular events, acute DVT/PE, hypoxia, need for mechanical ventilation, readmission, or mortality rate compared to those not on them. However, further large-scale studies are needed to validate these findings.