Is it possible to use Proton Pump Inhibitors in COVID-19 treatment and prophylaxis?

Role of the SARS‑COV2 infection in the evolution of acute pancreatitis (Review)

Acute pancreatitis is characterized as an inflammatory illness that is life-threatening and causes necrosis as well as simple edema when pancreatic enzymes are activated intraglandularly. It is not known whether severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 causes acute pancreatitis. Patients with acute pancreatitis who test positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) frequently have biliary or alcoholic causes. It is unclear how common acute pancreatitis is in patients with COVID-19. By contrast with patients without COVID-19, however, COVID-19-positive patients with acute pancreatitis have a higher mortality as well as a higher risk of necrosis and admission to an intensive care unit. The most common cause of mortality in COVID-19-positive individuals with concurrent severe pancreatitis is acute respiratory distress syndrome. The present study discussed research on the link between COVID-19 infection and acute pancreatitis.

What is the role of proton pump inhibitors consumption on the clinical presentation and severity of COVID-19 infection?

OBJECTIVE

Proton pump inhibitors (PPI) are among the most prescribed drugs worldwide; therefore, assessing their effect on COVID-19 infection symptoms and severity is of great importance. This study was designed to evaluate the role of previous PPI consumption on the clinical presentation and severity of COVID-19.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

All adult COVID-19 patients were eligible in this observational cross-sectional study. The patients' demographic and clinical data, history of PPI consumption, and comorbid disease were recorded. Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) and quick COVID-19 severity index (qCSI) score were calculated for each patient. IBM SPSS version 25 was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

Totally 670 patients completed the study (PPI users=121). The average severity (qCSI) score of PPI user patients with comorbidity score of zero was significantly higher than non-users (P-value=0.001). Mortality rate was 6.6% and 3.8% in PPI-users and non-users respectively (P-value=0.117). PPI users were significantly more symptomatic compared to non-users (P-value=0.001).

CONCLUSION

We found that PPI users were meaningfully more symptomatic and had a higher severity (qCSI) score. Rational prescription of PPIs should be considered by physicians during and after the pandemic.

Assessment of drugs administered in the Middle East as part of the COVID-19 management protocols

The pandemic spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) has been reported first at the end of 2019. It continues disturbing various human aspects with multiple pandemic waves showing more fatal novel variants. Now Egypt faces the sixth wave of the pandemic with controlled governmental measures. COVID-19 is an infectious respiratory disease-causing mild to moderate illness that can be progressed into life-threatening complications based on patients- and variant type-related factors. The symptoms vary from dry cough, fever to difficulty in breathing that required urgent hospitalization. Most countries have authorized their national protocols for managing manifested symptoms and thus lowering the rate of patients' hospitalization and boosting the healthcare systems. These protocols are still in use even with the development and approval of several vaccines. These protocols were instructed to aid home isolation, bed rest, dietary supplements, and additionally the administration of antipyretic, steroids, and antiviral drugs. The current review aimed to highlight the administered protocols in the Middle East, namely in Egypt and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia demonstrating how these protocols have shown potential effectiveness in treating patients and saving many soles.

People exposed to proton-pump inhibitors shortly preceding COVID-19 diagnosis are not at an increased risk of subsequent hospitalizations and mortality: A nationwide matched cohort study

AIMS

To assess whether exposure to proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) shortly preceding COVID-19 diagnosis affected the risk of subsequent hospitalizations and mortality.

METHODS

This population-based study embraced first COVID-19 episodes in adults diagnosed up to 15 August 2021 in Croatia. Patients were classified based on exposure to PPIs and burden of PPI-requiring morbidities as nonusers (no issued prescriptions, no recorded treatment-requiring conditions between 1 January 2019 and COVID-19 diagnosis), possible users (no issued prescriptions, but morbidities present; self-medication possible) and users (≥1 prescription within 3 months prior to the COVID-19 diagnosis; morbidities present). Subsets were mutually exactly matched for pre-COVID-19 characteristics. The contrast between users and possible users informed about the effect of PPIs that is separate of the effect of PPI-requiring conditions.

RESULTS

Among 433 609 patients, users and possible users were matched 41 195 (of 55 098) to 17 334 (of 18 170) in the primary and 33 272 to 16 434 in the sensitivity analysis. There was no relevant difference between them regarding mortality (primary: relative risk [RR] = 0.93 [95% confidence interval 0.85-1.02; absolute risk difference [RD] = -0.34% [-0.73, 0.03]; sensitivity: RR = 0.88 [0.78-0.98]; RD = -0.45% [-0.80, -0.11]) or hospitalizations (primary: RR = 1.04 [0.97-1.13]; RD = 0.29% [-0.16, 0.73]; sensitivity: RR = 1.05 [0.97-1.15]; RD = 0.32% [-0.12, 0.75]). The risks of both were slightly higher in possible users or users than in nonusers (absolutely by ~0.4-1.6%) indicating the effect of PPI-requiring morbidities.

CONCLUSION

Premorbid exposure to PPIs does not affect the risk of death or hospitalization in adult COVID-19 patients, but PPI-requiring morbidities seemingly slightly increase the risk of both.

Comparative risk of incidence and clinical outcomes of COVID-19 among proton pump inhibitor and histamine-2 receptor antagonist short-term users: a nationwide retrospective cohort study

Background

This study aimed to evaluate incidence risk and adverse clinical outcomes in COVID-19 disease among short-term users of acid-suppressants in South Korea.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study, conducted using a nationwide claims database for South Korea, used data from patients with COVID-19 tested between January 1 and May 15, 2020. Patients aged over 18 years and prescribed proton pump inhibitors (PPI) or histamine-2 receptor antagonist (H₂RA) for more than 7 days were identified. Primary outcome was COVID-19 while secondary outcomes were all-cause mortality, hospitalization with respiratory disease, or intensive respiratory intervention. Large-scale propensity scores were used to match patients, while the Cox proportional hazard model was utilized to evaluate any association between exposure and outcome(s). The risk estimates were calibrated by using 123 negative control outcomes.

Results

We identified 26,166 PPI users and 62,117 H₂RA users. After propensity score matching, compared to H₂RA use, PPI use was not significantly associated with lower risk of COVID-19 (calibrated hazard ratio [HR], 0.81 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.30–2.19]); moreover, PPI use was not associated with adverse clinical outcomes in COVID-19, namely, hospitalization with respiratory disease (calibrated HR, 0.88 [95% CI, 0.72–1.08]), intensive respiratory interventions (calibrated HR, 0.92 [95% CI, 0.46–1.82]), except for all-cause mortality (calibrated HR, 0.54 [95% CI, 0.31–0.95]).

Conclusions

In this study, we found that the PPI user was not associated with risk of COVID-19 compared to H₂RA users. There was no significant relationship between severe clinical outcomes of COVID-19 and exposure to PPI compared with H₂RA, except for all-cause mortality.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40360-022-00549-7.

Gastrointestinal manifestations in COVID-19

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a respiratory viral infection, has affected more than 78 million individuals worldwide as of the end of December 2020. Previous studies reported that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1 and Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus infections may affect the gastrointestinal (GI) system. In this review we outline the important GI manifestations of COVID-19 and discuss the possible underlying pathophysiological mechanisms and their diagnosis and management. GI manifestations are reported in 11.4-61.1% of individuals with COVID-19, with variable onset and severity. The majority of COVID-19-associated GI symptoms are mild and self-limiting and include anorexia, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain/discomfort. A minority of patients present with an acute abdomen with aetiologies such as acute pancreatitis, acute appendicitis, intestinal obstruction, bowel ischaemia, haemoperitoneum or abdominal compartment syndrome. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 RNA has been found in biopsies from all parts of the alimentary canal. Involvement of the GI tract may be due to direct viral injury and/or an inflammatory immune response and may lead to malabsorption, an imbalance in intestinal secretions and gut mucosal integrity and activation of the enteric nervous system. Supportive and symptomatic care is the mainstay of therapy. However, a minority may require surgical or endoscopic treatment for acute abdomen and GI bleeding.

Anti-infective properties of proton pump inhibitors: perspectives

Infectious diseases are among the main causes of morbidity and mortality today. In facing this crisis, the development of new drug options and combat strategies is necessary. In this sense, drug repositioning or drug redirection has emerged for the faster identification of effective drugs. In this “Commentary,” the anti-infective properties of the class of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are emphasized. Studies report activities against bacterial, fungal, parasitic, and viral agents. In addition, we have provided in a table a summary of the specific characteristics of PPIs and some of their anti-infective activities.

Will Proton Pump Inhibitors Lead to a Higher Risk of COVID-19 Infection and Progression to Severe Disease? A Meta-analysis

Previous researches on the association between proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) use and the treatment and prevention of COVID-19 has generated inconsistent findings. Therefore, this meta-analysis was conducted to clarify the outcome in patients who take PPIs. Eight articles with more than 268,683 subjects were included. PPI use was not associated with increased or decreased risk of COVID-19 infection (OR:3.16, 95% CI=0.74-13.43, P=0.12) or mortality risk of COVID-19 patients (OR=1.91, 95% CI=0.86-4.24, P=0.11). While it can add risk of severe disease (OR=1.54, 95% CI=1.20-1.99, P<0.001;) and secondary infection (OR=4.33, 95% CI=2.57-7.29). In summary, PPI use is not associated with an increased risk of infection and may not change the mortality risk of COVID-19, but appeared to be associated with an increased risk of progression to severe disease and secondary infection. However, more original studies to further clarify the relationship between PPI and COVID-19 are still urgently needed.

Paradoxical relationship between proton pump inhibitors and COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

The proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), used to reduce gastric acid secretion, represent one of the most widely used pharmaceutical classes in the world. Their consumption as a risk factor for the evolution of severe forms of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has been investigated as well as the mortality of these patients. These risks also appear to be linked to the duration and the dosage. On the other hand, several studies have emerged with regard to the protective or therapeutic effects of these drugs. More and more evidence underlines the immunomodulatory and anti-fibrotic role of PPIs. In addition, their ability to alkalize the contents of endosomes and lysosomes serves as an obstacle to the entry of the virus into the host cells.

AIM

To identify studies on the relationship between the intake of PPIs and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in patients affected by SARS-CoV-2 infection, with the main objective of evaluating the outcomes related to severity and mortality.

METHODS

A literature review was performed in November 2020. The MEDLINE/PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE and Google Scholar databases were searched for all relevant articles published in English on this topic. The search terms were identified by means of controlled vocabularies, such as the National Library of Medicine's MESH (Medical Subject Headings) and keywords. The MESH terms and keywords used were as follows: "COVID-19", "proton pump inhibitors", "PPIs", "SARS-CoV-2", "outcomes", "severity" and "mortality". The inclusion criteria regarding the studies considered in our analysis were: meta-analysis, case-control, hospital-based case-control, population-based case-control, retrospective studies, online survey, as well as cohort-studies, while articles not published as full reports, such as conference abstracts, case reports and editorials were excluded. We tried to summarize and pool all the data if available.

RESULTS

A total of 9 studies were found that described the use of PPIs, of which only 5 clearly reported the severity and mortality data in SARS-CoV-2 patients. Our pooled incidence analysis of severe events did not differ between patients with and without PPIs (odds ratio 1.65, 95% confidence interval: 0.62-4.35) (P = 0.314), or for mortality (odds ratio 1.77, 95% confidence interval: 0.62-5.03) (P = 0.286).

CONCLUSION

Detailed and larger case studies are needed to accurately understand the role of PPIs in this viral infection.

Analysis of the Effect of Proton-Pump Inhibitors on the Course of COVID-19

OBJECTIVE

This study is to evaluate the effect of proton-pump inhibitors on the course of COVID-19.

METHODS

Clinical data of moderate COVID-19 patients admitted to the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center for treatment from January 20, 2020, to March 16, 2020, were collected. A retrospective study was conducted and the patients were divided into two groups according to whether they used proton-pump inhibitors or not. The differences in SARS-CoV-2 clearance and hospital stay between the two groups were compared by Cox proportional hazards (PH) regression models and the propensity score matching method.

RESULTS

A total of 154 patients with moderate COVID-19 were included in this study, including 80 males (51.9%), 35 patients (22.7%) in the proton-pump inhibitor group, and 119 patients (77.3%) in the control group. In the proton-pump inhibitor group and the control group, the duration of the SARS-CoV-2 clearance was 7 days (95% CI, 6-9) and 7 days (95% CI, 6-11), and the duration of the hospital stay was 21 days (95% CI, 16-25) and 20 days (95% CI, 15-26), respectively. There was no significant difference between the both groups in the cumulative incidence of the SARS-CoV-2 clearance and the discharge, and the same results were obtained after the propensity score matching, all P > 0.05. There was no significant association between the use of proton-pump inhibitors and the duration of SARS-CoV-2 clearance, according to univariate analysis (HR, 1.309; 95% CI, 0.893-1.918) and multivariate analysis (HR, 1.575; 95% CI, 0.993-2.499). There was no significant association between the use of proton-pump inhibitors and the duration of hospital stay for COVID-19, according to univariate analysis (HR, 1.044; 95% CI, 0.714-1.528) and multivariate analysis (HR, 1.064; 95% CI, 0.651-1.740).

CONCLUSION

The use of proton-pump inhibitors has no effect on prolonging or shortening the course of adults hospitalized with COVID-19.

In-Hospital Mortality and Prediction in an Urban U.S. Population With COVID-19

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has touched every aspect of society, and as the pandemic continues around the globe, many of the clinical factors that influence the disease course remain unclear. A useful clinical decision-making tool is a risk stratification model to determine in-hospital mortality as defined in this study. The study was performed at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA. Data was extracted from our electronic medical records on 44 variables that included demographic, clinical, laboratory tests, treatments, and mortality information. We used the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression with corrected Akaike’s information criterion to identify a subset of variables that yielded the smallest estimated prediction error for the risk of in-hospital mortality. During the study period, 808 COVID-19 patients were admitted to RWJUH. The sample size was limited to patients with at least one confirmed in-house positive nasopharyngeal swab COVID-19 test. Pregnant patients or those who were transferred to our facility were excluded. Patients who were in observation and were discharged from the emergency room were also excluded. A total of 403 patients had complete values for all variables and were eligible for the study. We identified significant clinical, laboratory, and radiologic variables determining severe outcomes and mortality. An in-hospital mortality risk calculator was created after the identification of significant factors for the specific cohort, which were abnormal CT scan or chest X-ray, chronic kidney disease, age, white blood cell count, platelet count, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate transaminase with a sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value of 82%, 72%, and 93%, respectively. While numerous reports from around the globe have helped outline the pandemic, demographic factors vary widely. This study is more applicable to an urban, highly diverse population in the United States.

COVID-19 and Gastrointestinal Disease: Implications for the Gastroenterologist

BACKGROUND

COVID-19 was initially considered a respiratory disease but the SARS-CoV-2 virus can lead to serious systemic consequences affecting major organs including the digestive system.

SUMMARY

This review brings new clinically important information for the gastroenterologist. This includes: the mechanisms of tissue damage seen with the SARS-CoV-2 virus; the consequences of immunosuppression in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and chronic liver disease with the additional risks of decompensation in patients with cirrhosis; the impact of COVID-19 on gastrointestinal emergencies, on gastrointestinal endoscopy, diagnosis and treatments. These highlight the need to understand the clinical pharmacology, toxicology and therapeutic implications of drugs commonly used by gastroenterologists and their links with COVID-19. Key Messages: Any part of the digestive system may be affected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and those with pre-existing disease are at greatest risk of adverse outcomes. The risk for drug-drug interactions is considerable in patients seriously ill with COVID-19 who often require mechanical ventilation and life support. Some repurposed drugs used against SARS-CoV-2 can cause or aggravate some of the COVID-19-related gastrointestinal symptoms and can also induce liver injury. Ongoing clinical studies will hopefully identify effective drugs with a more favourable risk-benefit ratio than many initially tried treatments.

Proton Pump Inhibitors are Risk Factors for Viral Infections: Even for COVID-19?

During the ongoing pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), more attention should be paid to the balance of risks and benefits associated with proton pump inhibitors for the following reasons. One of the main functions of gastric juice is to inactivate swallowed microorganisms, thereby inhibiting infectious agents from reaching the intestine. Studies have documented that proton pump inhibitors are a risk factor for rotavirus, influenza virus, norovirus, and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infections, and are associated with an increased risk of acute gastroenteritis during periods of highest circulation of enteric viruses. In light of the evidence for gastrointestinal infection implying a fecal–oral transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and given the magnitude of the SARS-CoV-2/coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, associated with the widespread misuse of proton pump inhibitors, this suggests that we should not rule out the hypothesis that patients treated with proton pump inhibitors may be more at risk of being infected by SARS-CoV-2.

The Potential Therapeutic Role of Proton Pump Inhibitors in COVID-19: Hypotheses Based on Existing Evidences

Although the major therapeutic uses of the proton pump inhibitors are in gastric-acid related diseases, evidences are suggestive of a pleiotropic nature of the compounds. We comment on the probable pathways and cellular machineries via which proton pump inhibitors could show beneficial therapeutic effects against SARS-CoV-2 based on the existing evidences. Proton pump inhibitors have shown antiviral potencies in various in vivo and in vitro studies. Some of the major possible ways through which they can act against SARS-CoV-2 are by exerting anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects, via vacuolar ATPase pumps leading to raised endolysosomal pH and by targeting endosomal complexes. The current pandemic has put forward a challenge to find treatment options. Although the potential roles of proton pump inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2 have been discussed in recent publications, the clinical evidences for their real-world effectiveness do not point towards a beneficial effect clearly yet. We suggest that although proton pump inhibitors should strongly be considered as potential therapeutic options for COVID-19, larger studies in the form of randomized controlled trials would be required to arrive at a definite conclusion.