Statins help improve outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients

In patients hospitalized for COVID-19, use of statins prior to admission is predictive of improved outcomes and lower inflammation, according to a study.

Researchers analysed 4,464 patients, of whom 1,364 (27.5 percent) were taking a statin prior to hospitalization. A total of 1,061 primary outcome events occurred, including 540 deaths, 854 mechanical ventilation, and 313 renal replacement therapy.

After adjusting for confounders, use of statins correlated with lower levels of soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) only among biomarkers of inflammation.

Multivariate analysis further revealed the association of statin use with a lower incidence of the composite outcome of in-hospital death, need for mechanical ventilation, and need for renal replacement therapy (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.63, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.53–0.76) relative to nonuse.

These findings were consistent with inverse probability-of-treatment weighting (IPTW) (aOR, 0.92, 95 percent CI, 0.89–0.95). In addition, the estimated proportion of the effect of statin on the primary outcome mediated by suPAR was 31.5 percent.

In this study, the researchers used the International Study of Inflammation in COVID-19, a prospective multicentre cohort of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 between February 2020 and October 2022. The biomarkers of inflammation among participants were systematically assessed.

The research team then explored the association of prior statin use with the composite outcome using logistic regression modelling and IPTW.

Statins are lipid-lowering drugs that also possess anti-inflammatory effects.