Steroids use in non-oxygen requiring COVID-19 patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The pandemic is gone but its consequences are here to stay: avascular necrosis following corticosteroids administration for severe COVID-19

BACKGROUND

In patients with COVID-19 infection and respiratory insufficiency, corticosteroid (CCS) administration is recommended. Among the wide range of complications and interactions, time-limited high-dose CCS administration might promote avascular necrosis (AVN) in a cumulative dose. This systematic review updated the current evidence and characterises the trend of AVN following time-limited high-dose CCS administration in patients who had severe COVID-19, discussing management strategies and outcomes.

METHODS

This systematic review was conducted according to the 2020 PRISMA statement. In October 2023, the following databases were accessed: PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Scopus restricting the search to the years 2019 to 2023. All the clinical studies which investigated the association between time-limited high-dose CCS administration in patients with severe COVID-19 infection and AVN were accessed.

RESULTS

A total of 245 patients (9 studies) who experienced AVN following COVID-19 were included in the present investigation. 26% (63 of 245 included patients) were women. The mean age of the patients was 42.9 ± 17.7 years. Four studies focused on AVN of the hip and two on the knee, and the other studies included patients with AVN from mixed areas of the body (spine, pelvis, and shoulder). The mean time elapsed from COVID-19 infection to the development of symptomatic AVN was 79.4 ± 59.2 days (range, 14 to 166 days).

CONCLUSION

It is possible that even time-limited high-dose CCS administration in patients with severe COVID-19 infection increased the incidence of AVN. The mean time elapsed from COVID-19 infection to the development of symptomatic AVN was approximately 80 days. Given the high risk of bias in all the included studies, the quality of recommendations of the present investigation is low, and no reliable conclusion can be inferred.

AG5 is a potent non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and immune regulator that preserves innate immunity

An archetypal anti-inflammatory compound against cytokine storm would inhibit it without suppressing the innate immune response. AG5, an anti-inflammatory compound, has been developed as synthetic derivative of andrographolide, which is highly absorbable and presents low toxicity. We found that the mechanism of action of AG5 is through the inhibition of caspase-1. Interestingly, we show with in vitro generated human monocyte derived dendritic cells that AG5 preserves innate immune response. AG5 minimizes inflammatory response in a mouse model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced lung injury and exhibits in vivo anti-inflammatory efficacy in the SARS-CoV-2-infected mouse model. AG5 opens up a new class of anti-inflammatories, since contrary to NSAIDs, AG5 is able to inhibit the cytokine storm, like dexamethasone, but, unlike corticosteroids, preserves adequately the innate immunity. This is critical at the early stages of any naïve infection, but particularly in SARS-CoV-2 infections. Furthermore, AG5 showed interesting antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 in humanized mice.

SARS-CoV-2 infection as a potential risk factor for the development of cancer

The COVID-19 pandemic has a significant impact on public health and the estimated number of excess deaths may be more than three times higher than documented in official statistics. Numerous studies have shown an increased risk of severe COVID-19 and death in patients with cancer. In addition, the role of SARS-CoV-2 as a potential risk factor for the development of cancer has been considered. Therefore, in this review, we summarise the available data on the potential effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on oncogenesis, including but not limited to effects on host signal transduction pathways, immune surveillance, chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, cell cycle dysregulation, potential viral genome integration, epigenetic alterations and genetic mutations, oncolytic effects and reactivation of dormant cancer cells. We also investigated the potential long-term effects and impact of the antiviral therapy used in COVID-19 on cancer development and its progression.

Meta-Analysis of Glucocorticoids for Covid-19 Patients Not Receiving Oxygen

BACKGROUND: Glucocorticoids reduce mortality in hospitalized patients with severe and critical coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), although a possible harm was documented in patients with Covid-19 not requiring oxygen. METHODS: We searched Embase, BioMed Central, medRxiv, bioRxiv, PubMed, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for any randomized trial or matched study ever performed on adult patients with Covid-19 not receiving oxygen therapy treated with intravenous or oral glucocorticoids versus any comparator (standard therapy or placebo); there were no restrictions on dose or time of administration. The primary end point was all-cause mortality at the longest available follow-up. RESULTS: Five randomized trials and one propensity-matched study involving 6634 hospitalized patients not on oxygen were finally included (3704 received glucocorticoids and 2930 received standard treatment). The overall mortality of patients treated with glucocorticoids was significantly higher than the mortality of patients in the control group (509 of 3704 [14%] in the glucocorticoid group vs. 294 of 2930 [10%] in the control group; odds ratio, 1.56 [95% confidence interval, 1.27 to 1.92], with three articles reporting mortality events and contributing to the combined odds ratio; P<0.001; number needed to harm=27). CONCLUSIONS: Glucocorticoid use likely increases mortality in hospitalized patients with Covid-19 not receiving oxygen, with a number needed to harm of 27. (PROSPERO number CRD42022342996.)

Incidence and Risk Factors for Clostridioides difficile Infections in Non-COVID and COVID-19 Patients: Experience from a Tertiary Care Hospital

(1) Background: The aim of this study was to assess the incidence and the risk factors for healthcare-associated Clostridioides difficile infection (HA-CDI) in patients with COVID-19 and without this infection. (2) Methods: A single-center, prospective observational study was conducted at the University Clinical Hospital Center in Belgrade, Serbia, from January 2019 to December 2021. The entire hospital was a COVID-dedicated hospital for 12 months during the study period. The incidence density rates and risk factors for HA-CDI in patients with and without COVID-19 are presented. (3) Results: The incidence rates of HA-CDIs were three times higher in patients with COVID-19. The HA-CDI-COVID-patients were younger (69.9 ± 12.6 vs. 72.5 ± 11.6; p = 0.017), admitted from another hospital (20.5% vs. 2.9; p < 0.001), had antimicrobial therapy before CDI (99.1% vs. 91.3%, p < 0.001), received two or more antibiotics (p = 0.030) during a longer period (p = 0.035), received proton pump inhibitors (95.9% vs. 50.0%, p < 0.001) during a longer period (p = 0.012) and steroids (32.8% vs. 20.4%, p < 0.001). During the last month before their current hospitalization, a higher percentage of patients without COVID-19 disease were hospitalized in our hospital (p < 0.001). Independent predictors for HA-CDIs in patients with COVID-19 were admission from another hospital (p = 0.003), the length of antibiotic administration (0.020), and the use of steroids in therapy (p < 0.001). The HA-CDI predictors in the non-COVID patients were older age (p = 0.017), advanced-stage renal failure (p = 0.005), chemotherapy (p = 0.003), and a low albumin level (0.005). (4) Conclusion: Higher incidence rates of HAI-CDIs in COVID-19 patients did not occur due to reduced infection control precautions and hygiene measures but due to antibiotic therapy and therapy with other drugs used during the pandemic.

Corticosteroids use for COVID-19: an overview of systematic reviews

PURPOSE

A reappraisal of the validity of the conclusions of systematic reviews (SRs) and meta-analyses related to corticosteroids use for the treatment of COVID-19.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

An overview of SRs (umbrella review). The methodological quality of the SRs was assessed using tha AMSTAR-2 checklist; quality of the evidence was appraised following the GRADE approach.

RESULTS

35 SRs were included in this overview. Data were from 307 overlapping reports, based on 121 individual primary studies (25 randomized clinical trials (RCTs), 96 non-RCTs. In critically ill patients the use of steroids significantly reduced mortality compared to standard of care in 80% of the SRs, more often with moderate/high level of certainty; however, in patients not requiring oxygen supplementation the use of steroids increased the overall mortality in 2/3 of the comparisons. Clinical progression of diseases (need for mechanical ventilation, or for intensive care admission) was more commonly observed among controls compared to steroids recipients (in 9 out of 14 comparisons; certainty of evidence from very-low to moderate). The occurrence of adverse events was similar among steroids recipients and controls. Other outcomes (i.e., viral clearance, length of hospital stay) or issue related to optimal dose and type of steroids were addressed in a minority of SRs, with a high level of uncertainty, so that no definitive conclusions can be drawn.

CONCLUSIONS

There is moderate certainty of evidence that corticosteroids reduce mortality and progression of disease in critically ill COVID-19 patients compared to standard of care, without increasing the occurrence of adverse events.

Effect of methylprednisolone therapy on hospital stay and viral clearance in patients with moderate COVID-19

Background

The benefits and harms of methylprednisolone treatment in patients with moderate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remain controversial. In this study, we investigated the effect of methylprednisolone on mortality rate, viral clearance, and hospitalization stay in patients with moderate COVID-19.

Methods

This retrospective study included 4827 patients admitted to Wuhan Huoshenshan and Wuhan Guanggu hospitals from February to March 2020 diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia. The participants' epidemiological and demographic data, comorbidities, laboratory test results, treatments, outcomes, and vital clinical time points were extracted from electronic medical records. The primary outcome was in-hospital death; secondary outcomes were time from admission to viral clearance and hospital stay. Univariate and multivariate logistic or linear regression analysis were used to assess the roles of methylprednisolone in different outcomes. The propensity score matching (PSM) method was used to control for confounding factors.

Results

A total of 1320 patients were included in this study, of whom 100 received methylprednisolone. Overall, in-hospital mortality was 0.91% (12/1320); the 12 patients who died were all in the methylprednisolone group, though multivariate logistic regression analysis showed methylprednisolone treatment was not a risk factor for in-hospital death in moderate patients before or after adjustment for confounders by PSM. Methylprednisolone treatment was correlated with longer length from admission to viral clearance time and hospital stay before and after adjustment for confounders.

Conclusions

Methylprednisolone therapy was not associated with increased in-hospital mortality but with delayed viral clearance and extended hospital stay in moderate COVID-19 patients.

COVID-19 and the Immune Response: A Multi-Phasic Approach to the Treatment of COVID-19

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a viral agent that causes Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a disease that causes flu-like symptoms that, when exacerbated, can have life-threatening consequences. COVID-19 has been linked to persistent symptoms, sequelae, and medical complications that can last months after the initial infection. This systematic review aims to elucidate the innate and adaptive immune mechanisms involved and identify potential characteristics of COVID-19 pathology that may increase symptom duration. We also describe he three different stages of COVID-19—viral replication, immune hyperactivation, and post-acute sequelae—as well as each phase’s corresponding immune response. Finally, we use this multiphasic approach to describe different treatment approaches for each of the three stages—antivirals, immunosuppressants and monoclonal antibodies, and continued immunosuppressants—to fully curate the treatment to the stage of disease.

Standard of care for COVID-19 in randomized clinical trials registered in trial registries and published in preprint servers and scholarly journals: a cross-sectional study

Background

The concept of standard of care (SoC) treatment is commonly utilized in clinical trials. However, in a setting of an emergent disease, such as COVID-19, where there is no established effective treatment, it is unclear what the investigators considered as the SoC in early clinical trials. The aim of this study was to analyze and classify SoC reported in randomized controlled trial (RCT) registrations and RCTs published in scholarly journals and on preprint servers about treatment interventions for COVID-19.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional study. We included RCTs registered in a trial registry, and/or published in a scholarly journal, and/or published on preprint servers medRxiv and bioRxiv (any phase; any recruitment status; any language) that aim to compare treatment interventions related to COVID-19 and SoC, available from January 1, 2020, to October 8, 2020. Studies using „standard“ treatment were eligible for inclusion if they reported they used standard, usual, conventional, or routine treatment. When we found such multiple reports of an RCT, we treated those multiple sources as one unit of analysis.

Results

Among 737 unique trials included in the analysis, 152 (21%) reported that SoC was proposed by the institutional or national authority. There were 129 (18%) trials that reported component(s) of SoC; the remaining trials simply reported that they used SoC, with no further detail. Among those 129 trials, the number of components of SoC ranged from 1 to 10. The most commonly used groups of interventions in the SoC were antiparasitics (62% of the trials), antivirals (57%), antibiotics (31%), oxygen (17%), antithrombotics/anticoagulants (14%), vitamins (13%), immunomodulatory agents (13%), corticosteroids (12%), analgesics/antipyretics (12%). Various combinations of those interventions were used in the SoC, with up to 7 different types of interventions combined. Posology, timing, and method of administration were frequently not reported for SoC components.

Conclusion

Most RCTs (82%) about treatment for COVID-19 that were registered or published in the first 9 months of the pandemic did not describe the “standard of care” they used. Many of those interventions have, by now, been shown as ineffective or even detrimental.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12874-022-01646-1.

Molnupiravir: Is It Time to Move In or Move Out?

Molnupiravir: Is It Time to Move In or Move Out?With more than 250 million diagnosed cases and 5 million deaths, Covid-19 is our epoch-defining pandemic - and it is still ongoing. Despite the development of several effective Covid-19 vaccines, there are a limited number of antiviral treatments to reduce disease progression, risk of hospitalization, and death once the infection occurs. In this editorial, we examine the results of the phase 2 randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trials evaluating the safety and efficacy of molnupiravir, ...

COVID-19 Drug Development

Diagnostics, vaccines, and drugs are indispensable tools and control measures employed to overcome infectious diseases such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Diagnostic tools based on RT-PCR were developed early in the COVID-19 pandemic and were urgently required for quarantine (testing, tracing and isolation). Vaccines such as mRNA vaccines and virus-vectored vaccines were also successfully developed using new platform technologies within one year after identifying severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as the causative agent of COVID-19. Drug development has been conducted in various ways including drug repurposing, convalescent plasma therapy, and monoclonal antibody development. Among the above efforts, this review examines COVID-19 drug development along with the related and upcoming challenges.